site.btaMetal Fragments Such As Those Found by RSV 421 Are Rarity in Antarctica

Metal fragments such as those found by the Bulgarian naval research vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii (RSV 421) are a rarity in Antarctica, the ship’s commanding officer, Captain Nikolay Danailov, said Tuesday in a BTA interview, commenting on the plane parts found by geologist Kalin Naydenov and mountaineers Doichin Boyanov, Kiril Doskov, and Marcho Paunov in the area of Livingston Island's False Bay.

Danailov said that while working on their project, the 32nd Bulgarian Antarctic Expedition participants found metal debris and took them aboard the ship. "Upon examining them, we found that they were most likely parts of a military aircraft," he added.

He said that the place where the parts were found was quite interesting because neither Bulgarian scientists nor their Spanish colleagues have ever set foot on this coast.

Looking into the matter, the crew found out that the Chilean Air Force had lost an aircraft in 2019. "That is why we decided to contact the Chilean Air Force’s Antarctic air command," Danailov said, adding that they were interested in the discovered wreckage.

"We will head there around February 1 and the parts will be taken to their naval Antarctic base, Frey, on King George Island," he noted.