LONDON — In a dramatic operation
displaying unusual international
harmony in one of the world’s most
remote and inhospitable places, a
red-and-white Chinese helicopter on
Thursday rescued 52 passengers
trapped for more than a week
aboard an icebound Russian research
ship in Antarctica, ferrying them a
dozen at a time to an Australian
icebreaker.
The twin-rotored helicopter, based
on a Chinese icebreaker, the Xue
Long, or Snow Dragon, flew several
sorties across miles of packed ice to
pluck scientists, tourists and
journalists from a makeshift landing
zone next to the marooned vessel, the
Akademik Shokalskiy.
The blue-hulled Russian ship was
surrounded by such dense and
extensive pack ice that it could not
move, and vessels designed to break
through ice could not get near.
Images from the people being
rescued showed them smiling as they
walked in single file across the ice to
a landing area that had been cleared
by passengers and crew to enable the
helicopter to touch down. Other
images on the Internet showed crew
members hauling sleds with the
passengers’ luggage.
As the rescue got underway with the
arrival of the Chinese helicopter,
Chris Turney, a leader of the
research expedition and a professor
of climate change at the University of
New South Wales in Australia, said in
a message on Twitter that the
Chinese helicopter had arrived. “It’s
100% we’re off!” he wrote. “A huge
thanks to all.”
The rescue was closely followed
around the world by scientists and
others, with journalists on board
sending progress reports as the
passengers were lifted to safety
aboard the Australian icebreaker, the
Aurora Australis.
Before the operation began, rescuers
said they were worried that the
weather would turn bad and prevent
the helicopter from flying. The
captain of the Xue Long, Jia Shuliang,
told the Chinese state news agency
Xinhua that the rescue would take
five or six flights and last three or
four hours if weather conditions
were good.
“We must be patient and wait until
the adverse weather improves, as
poor visibility could lead to tragedy
under the current conditions of
limited navigation,” he said before
the first flight.
But, several hours later, Dr. Turney
sent another message on Twitter
saying, “We’ve made it to the Aurora
Australis safe and sound.” The
Australian Maritime Safety Agency,
which coordinated the rescue, said
the crew of the Aurora Australis had
confirmed that the 52 passengers
were on board.
The ship is to take the rescued
passengers to the Australian island
state of Tasmania, arriving there in
mid-January.
The 22 crew members of the Russian
research ship planned to stay on
board until the ice releases its grip.
The ship is well stocked for a long
voyage, passengers said.
The 233-foot Russian research ship
has been lodged in the ice since Dec.
24, when powerful winds encircled it
with pack ice near Cape de la Motte,
about 1,700 miles south of Hobart,
Tasmania.
The ship had set sail from Bluff, New
Zealand, on Dec. 8, embarking on a
planned monthlong voyage known as
the Australasian Antarctic Expedition
to study changes to the environment
of East Antarctica since an Australian
geologist, Douglas Mawson, surveyed
the region a century ago.
Efforts to rescue the passengers
began when the Aurora Australis was
diverted from a resupply operation
at an Australian Antarctic base. But
the ship was unable to break through
and risked becoming stuck itself,
according to Australian maritime
authorities.
The Xue Long failed in a similar
attempt on Saturday but remained in
the area. The Chinese ship was about
two months into a five-month
Antarctic expedition.
Alan Cowell reported from London,
and Edward Wong from Beijing. Chen
Jiehao contributed research from
Beijing.
displaying unusual international
harmony in one of the world’s most
remote and inhospitable places, a
red-and-white Chinese helicopter on
Thursday rescued 52 passengers
trapped for more than a week
aboard an icebound Russian research
ship in Antarctica, ferrying them a
dozen at a time to an Australian
icebreaker.
The twin-rotored helicopter, based
on a Chinese icebreaker, the Xue
Long, or Snow Dragon, flew several
sorties across miles of packed ice to
pluck scientists, tourists and
journalists from a makeshift landing
zone next to the marooned vessel, the
Akademik Shokalskiy.
The blue-hulled Russian ship was
surrounded by such dense and
extensive pack ice that it could not
move, and vessels designed to break
through ice could not get near.
Images from the people being
rescued showed them smiling as they
walked in single file across the ice to
a landing area that had been cleared
by passengers and crew to enable the
helicopter to touch down. Other
images on the Internet showed crew
members hauling sleds with the
passengers’ luggage.
As the rescue got underway with the
arrival of the Chinese helicopter,
Chris Turney, a leader of the
research expedition and a professor
of climate change at the University of
New South Wales in Australia, said in
a message on Twitter that the
Chinese helicopter had arrived. “It’s
100% we’re off!” he wrote. “A huge
thanks to all.”
The rescue was closely followed
around the world by scientists and
others, with journalists on board
sending progress reports as the
passengers were lifted to safety
aboard the Australian icebreaker, the
Aurora Australis.
Before the operation began, rescuers
said they were worried that the
weather would turn bad and prevent
the helicopter from flying. The
captain of the Xue Long, Jia Shuliang,
told the Chinese state news agency
Xinhua that the rescue would take
five or six flights and last three or
four hours if weather conditions
were good.
“We must be patient and wait until
the adverse weather improves, as
poor visibility could lead to tragedy
under the current conditions of
limited navigation,” he said before
the first flight.
But, several hours later, Dr. Turney
sent another message on Twitter
saying, “We’ve made it to the Aurora
Australis safe and sound.” The
Australian Maritime Safety Agency,
which coordinated the rescue, said
the crew of the Aurora Australis had
confirmed that the 52 passengers
were on board.
The ship is to take the rescued
passengers to the Australian island
state of Tasmania, arriving there in
mid-January.
The 22 crew members of the Russian
research ship planned to stay on
board until the ice releases its grip.
The ship is well stocked for a long
voyage, passengers said.
The 233-foot Russian research ship
has been lodged in the ice since Dec.
24, when powerful winds encircled it
with pack ice near Cape de la Motte,
about 1,700 miles south of Hobart,
Tasmania.
The ship had set sail from Bluff, New
Zealand, on Dec. 8, embarking on a
planned monthlong voyage known as
the Australasian Antarctic Expedition
to study changes to the environment
of East Antarctica since an Australian
geologist, Douglas Mawson, surveyed
the region a century ago.
Efforts to rescue the passengers
began when the Aurora Australis was
diverted from a resupply operation
at an Australian Antarctic base. But
the ship was unable to break through
and risked becoming stuck itself,
according to Australian maritime
authorities.
The Xue Long failed in a similar
attempt on Saturday but remained in
the area. The Chinese ship was about
two months into a five-month
Antarctic expedition.
Alan Cowell reported from London,
and Edward Wong from Beijing. Chen
Jiehao contributed research from
Beijing.
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