This document has been archived. 

Title:  Statement by Dr. Rita Colwell, Director, National Science
            Foundation on South Pole Medical Situation
Date:   October 13, 1999





 Media contact: Mary Hanson
 October 13, 1999
                        (703) 306-1070/mhanson@nsf.gov
 PS 99-22

 Statement by

 RITA COLWELL
 DIRECTOR, NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

 On South Pole Medical 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.

 -end-

 Editor's Note:  The planes arrived at McMurdo Station at 12:30 a.m. and
 1 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 13, U.S. (EDT) time; that's 5:30 p.m. and 6:00
 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 13, New Zealand/McMurdo time. New Zealand and
 McMurdo are 17 hours ahead of the Eastern United States.