Polar Medical Emergency
NSF Press Statement, October 13, 1999
Statement by Dr. Rita Colwell, Director, National Science Foundation
On South Pole Situation -- Arrival of LC-130 in Antarctica
I have just been informed that two N.Y. Air National Guard LC-130 transport aircraft have landed at the National Science Foundation’s McMurdo Station on the Antarctic Coast. The planes will await favorable weather in McMurdo to fly to the South Pole to evacuate Dr. Jerri Nielsen, the physician at NSF’s Amundsen Scott South Pole Station.
We at NSF wish the aircrews good luck for a safe and speedy trip to the Pole. We also wish to thank the Air Guard’s 109th Airlift Wing for its efforts to insure that Dr. Nielsen will be able to return to the United States as quickly and as safely as possible.
On a personal note, I would like to stress that we wish to respect, to the full extent possible, Dr. Nielsen’s privacy at this difficult time in her life. My hope is that the members of the news media will also share our respect for her dignity and privacy as she begins the process of readjusting to life outside of South Pole station.
In that regard, I simply wish to repeat what NSF has said all along; that we will not discuss any details of Dr. Nielsen’s private life, her medical condition or treatment, and, most particularly, we will not talk about her whereabouts after she has safely landed at McMurdo.
In closing, I wish to say once more that everyone at NSF wishes both the aircrews and Dr. Nielsen Godspeed and a safe return.
Thank you.
