In Antarctica, a team of scientists is currently stuck in a small base and has reached out for help via email. They are facing a dangerous situation where one team member has reportedly made threats to harm another colleague.

The group of researchers from South Africa is stationed at the Sanae IV base, a research facility in Antarctica. They have limited communication and are expected to remain isolated for around 10 months.

Extreme weather makes leaving and entering nearly impossible and there are thousands of miles between the team and their home continent.

This leaves the group with only each other for company in the absence of animals, other humans and society as they know it.

Recently, one of the researchers at the base sent an alarming email detailing an incident where they were attacked by another team member who continues to pose a threat to their safety.

The group were living in fear of the man who posed a threat to the entire team, the researcher wrote.

The team member was also accused of sexually assaulting one of his colleagues.

The author of the email, which was shared with South Africa’s Sunday Times, wrote: ‘Regrettably, his behaviour has escalated to a point that is deeply disturbing.

A group of scientists trapped in a tiny base in Antarctica have sent an email pleading to be rescued after they say a member of their team threatened to kill another colleague. The base is located in Vesleskarvet, Queen Maud Land, Antarctica (file photo)

Researchers at the Sanae base only have each other for company in the absence of animals, other humans and society as they know it. Pictured is a different team of scientific researchers who were stationed at the base in 2014

In January 2013, a different group of scientists at the Sanae base launched 20 balloons up into the air to study an enduring mystery of space weather

‘Specifically, he physically assaulted [X], which is a grave violation of personal safety and workplace norms.

‘Furthermore, he threatened to kill [X], creating an environment of fear and intimidation.

‘I remain deeply concerned about my own safety, constantly wondering if I might become the next victim.’

The author expressed immense concern over the colleague’s ‘increasingly egregious behaviour’ and called for immediate action to ensure their own safety and that of the team as a whole.

‘I am experiencing significant difficulty in feeling secure in his presence,’ the email continued.

Neither the author nor the accused have been named.

South Africa’s environment minister Dion George said he would speak personally with the team to assess the situation.

‘There was a verbal altercation between the team leader and this person. Then it escalated and then that person did physically assault the leader.

‘You can imagine what it’s like. It is close quarters and people do get cabin fever. It can be very disorientating.’

Living in harsh conditions among a remote landscape and staggering temperatures of minus 23 degrees, the team rarely, if ever, leaves the base for their own safety.

Mr George said that researchers are required to undergo rigorous psychological evaluation to determine their suitability for the mentally demanding environment.

The Barrel team that was station at the SANAE IV research centre in January 2013 celebrates their final launch in the Antarctica sun

Scientists on South African Antarctic research base Sanae IV have pleaded for help

Alan Chambers, an explorer who completed a 700-mile skiing expedition in the region last year, said that from a ‘psychological perspective’ the South Pole is a ‘very very lonely place’.

‘There’s very little interaction with humans or animals so if you’re in a camp or a research centre you’re with those people for six months, if not a year,’ he told The Times.

‘Everything becomes heightened. It’s all white – there’s no colour, no noise and nothing you would see as normal so everybody’s behaviour – including your own – gets magnified and the little things become the big things.’ 

Mr Chamber warned the ‘loneliness of the continent’ majorly impacts behaviour and said that those who are stationed in Antarctica ‘really have to be happy with yourself’.

He claims that due to the fact that one spend ‘lot of time inside your mind’, small issues with others can escalate into larger problems.