Identification of absorbing galaxies towards the QSO J2233-606 in the Hubble Deep Field South

We present spectroscopic observations of galaxies lying within 1' of QSO J2 233-606 in the Hubble Deep Field South (HDF-S). Several are found to be coi ncident in redshift with absorption-line systems seen in the HST J2233-606 spectrum. We detect a new z(em) = 1.336 QSO with I = 20.8 at a projected an gular separation of 44.5 " (or rho = 200h(-1) kpc; q(0) = 0.5) from J2233-6 06. This QSO pair is an ideal target for QSO environment studies. Indeed, s trong HI Ly alpha and Ly beta absorptions are seen at z(abs) = 1.3367 in th e J2233-606 spectrum. The bright spiral galaxy (J2233378-603324), projected at 4.7 " from J2233-606, is at z = 0.570 (thus rho = 18h(-1) kpc). Absorpt ion is seen in the Lyman series at the same redshift but the weakness of th e Lyman break implies N(HI) < 10(17) cm(-2).