Mirny’s chief mechanic missing in storm
A weather phenomenon that is not uncommon in Antarctica has claimed the life of a member of the Russian scientific coastal station on Queen Maud Land.
Last week in Kochi, India, at the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings (ATCM), the States approved the inclusion on the list of historic monuments of the commemorative plaque of the first reconnaissance mission to Lake Untersee, in 1969, led by the 14th Soviet Antarctic expedition. Over six and a half kilometres long and 169 metres deep, this lake is one of the largest in West Antarctica. A satisfactory result for the Russian Federation, which nevertheless has presented a more sombre document at the meetings.
Last March, the chief engineer of the Mirny station – located on the coast of Queen Maud Land – disappeared during a spell of bad weather. On the 25th, a storm warning was hanging over the station. At around 6pm, the wind was strong and visibility poor. The base manager took measures to restrict traffic. At 6.45pm, the wind was blowing at 90 km/h, and visibility was less than 500 metres, according to the document.
“It’s not surprising: on the coast, the weather can deteriorate very quickly,” explains Hervé Fauvre, a meteorologist at Météo France who was recently assigned to Dumont-d’Urville. “There can be katabatic winds: it’s sunny and then an air front quickly lifts the snow, which rises to a height of 200 metres, and sometimes the visibility can drop to five metres.” With reduced visibility, a mistake in direction can easily be made. “The Dumont-d’Urville district manager restricted movement on the station, except to go and eat or work,” he explains.
At Mirny, the chief engineer then allegedly left alone from the wardroom to the service and accommodation building “despite safety requirements”, the document states. Then “his arrival was not recorded”. Seven hundred metres separate the two buildings. Once the alert was given, the weather conditions deteriorated further, with gusts of 120 km/h and visibility of less than 200 metres. The station organised a search and two groups of three people searched the area, without success. The next three days produced the same result.
On April 19, as the Akademik Tryoshnikov passed by, a Ka-32 helicopter patrol revealed no trace of the chief engineer. The last fatal accident reported to the RCTA was in 2018. Also in March, an Indian student lost his life, caught under a vehicle while resupplying the New Indian Barrier station. At present, an investigation is underway to learn the lessons from the Mirny accident.
Camille Lin, PolarJournal AG
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