NEWS

After being trapped for more than a week, researchers and crew members aboard the Russian research ship Akademik Shokalskiy were finally rescued by a chinese helicopter. The dangerous rescue operation using a twin-rotor helicopter became successful with the help of the 55-year-old Chinese pilot, Jia Shuliang, who risked to maneuver and land through blinding snow and strong winds in the Antarctic.

AP Photo/Xinhua, Zhang Jiansong

In a report, a spot of clear weather allowed the multinational rescue operation to push their way through the thick ice environment of the Antarctic. The red and yellow-colored helicopter manned by the Chinese pilot, who has 36 years of flying experience, made a high risk rescue attempt using a transport helicopter for which it was ill-equipped.

In an interview before the rescue, Jia told China's official Xinhua News Agency that he had no way of knowing whether the ice could withstand the helicopter's weight.

"The helicopter's takeoff and landing depends entirely on the pilot's N$k&d eye. It can be very dangerous whenever visibility is bad so we have to wait patiently," Jia said.

The Chinese pilot took seven hours to carry the scientists and tourists from the Russian ship MV Akademik Shokalskiy to an Australian icebreaker, Aurora Australis, according to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority's Rescue Coordination Centre, which oversaw the rescue.

ASMA Emergency Response Division manager John Young described the rescue operation as one of the remotest and most complex ever coordinated from Australia, which has rescue responsibility for part of Antarctic.

"The protracted nature of operations in Antarctica and the difficulty of getting good weather windows and getting the right ice conditions really make life very difficult, and in this particular case, the simple fact of having to move 52 people who are not really trained for that environment added complexity," Young added.

The rescue operation came in the never-ending daylight of summer after a week of failed attempts to break the ice and reach the vessel, which was trapped since Christmas Eve. The Akademik Shokalskiy left New Zealand on Nov. 28 got stuck after a blizzard pushed the sea ice around the ship, freezing it in place about 2,700 kilometers (1,700 miles) south of Hobart, Tasmania. Three icebreakers tried to crack their way through the ice surrounding the Russian ship but all failed, forced to retreat to open water by fierce winds and snow.

Meanwhile, the icebreaker Aurora Australis is expected to reach open sea later Friday and will take two weeks to bring the rescued passengers to the Australian island state of Tasmania.

On the other hand, the 22 crew members of the Akademik Shokalskiy stayed with the icebound vessel, which is not in any danger and has enough supplies on board to last for weeks. They will wait until the ice that surrounds the ship breaks up. John Young, however, said "it's quite uncertain how long it will take the Shokalskiy to be able to break through the ice."

The rescued scientific team on board the Russian vessel had been recreating Australian explorer Douglas Mawson's 1911 to 1913 voyage to Antarctica. (a news report summary from MSN)