A scientist working in a remote outpost in Antarctica allegedly stabbed his colleague because he kept telling him how the books he was reading would end.

Sergey Savitsky, 55, and Oleg Beloguzov, 52, would often spend hours reading during the four years they worked together in the lonely location.

According to reports, Savitsky has told Russian investigators that he saw red and attacked Beloguzov with a kitchen knife when he once again ruined the ending.

Sergey Savitsky reportedly told investigators he attacked because his colleague kept ruining his books (Picture: east2west news)

His colleague is now reportedly in intensive care in hospital after being treated for a stab wound to the heart.


He was flown to the hospital in Chile from the remote research centre where the pair worked but his life is not said to be in danger.

Toothbrush removed from man's stomach after he swallowed it while brushing

Savitsky is now back at home in St Petersburg under house arrest after being charged with attempted murder.



It is believed to the first time that a man has been charged with such a crime on the world’s loneliest continent.

The alleged attack took place on Russia’s Bellingshausen research station on King George Island, part of the South Shetland island group.

Victim Oleg Beloguzov has been treated for a knife injury to the heart (Picture: east2west news)

Witness statements have been taken and are currently being examined by the Russian Investigative Committee in St Petersburg, according to Russian media reports.

Savitsky has expressed remorse over the attack in the station’s canteen. Reports say the altercation was fuelled by alcohol and the outpost’s tiny living space.

Workers at the station have access to two Russian TV channels, sporting facilities, and a library.

‘They are both professional scientists who have been working in our expeditions, spending a year long seasons at the station,’ Alexander Klepikov, deputy director of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, told Komsomolskaya Pravda.

‘It is down to investigators to figure out what sparked the conflict, but both men are members of our team.’

A criminal probe was launched and Savitsky admitted to stabbing his colleague but claimed he did not intend to kill him, reported Nevskie Novosti citing law enforcement sources.

The station was set up in 1968 by a Soviet Antarctic expedition. It is one of the few locations on the continent with a tundra rather than ice cap climate – so is seen as relatively mild.

It is also the site of a permanently staffed Orthodox church. The station is named after 19th century Russian explorer Fabian von Bellingshausen.

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