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| Helicopter Rescues Passengers From Ship Trapped in Antarctic Ice | Helicopter Rescues Passengers From Ship Trapped in Antarctic Ice |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| LONDON — A helicopter from a Chinese ice-breaking vessel began a rescue on Thursday of 52 passengers trapped aboard an icebound research ship in Antarctica, landing next to the ship using a makeshift landing zone on the ice, according to a passenger and a leader of the scientists on board. | |
| The helicopter from the Chinese icebreaker Xue Long, or Snow Dragon, was to ferry the passengers — scientists, tourists and several journalists — in several batches, ending more than a week of drama in which ice held the MV Akademik Shokalskiy research ship firmly in place and prevented other vessels from approaching. | |
| 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 has arrived the Shokalskiy. It’s 100% we’re off! A huge thanks to all.” | 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 has arrived the Shokalskiy. It’s 100% we’re off! A huge thanks to all.” |
| Andrew Luck-Baker, a BBC reporter on board the vessel, said the rescue was underway and would likely take several hours. | |
| As the rescue began, a journalist for Xinhua, the Chinese state news agency, filed reports from aboard the Xue Long, and official Chinese news websites kept readers posted on the progress of the operation , which was overseen by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. | |
| The captain of the Xue Long, Jia Shuliang, told 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. | |
| Australian officials said initially that the plan was to take all 52 passengers to the Xue Long to be transported by barge to the Aurora Australis, an Australian icebreaker, across two and a half miles of open water. | |
| Later, officials said on Twitter that the passengers would be taken in several trips directly to an ice floe near the Australian ship to board it. | |
| The passengers were expected to make landfall on the Australian island state of Tasmania in mid-January. | The passengers were expected to make landfall on the Australian island state of Tasmania in mid-January. |
| The 233-foot Russian research ship had 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 233-foot Russian research ship had 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. | 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 getting stuck itself, according to Australian maritime authorities. | 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 getting 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 is about two months into a five-month Antarctic expedition. | The Xue Long failed in a similar attempt on Saturday but remained in the area. The Chinese ship is about two months into a five-month Antarctic expedition. |
| According to a posting on the expedition website by Dr. Turney on Dec. 31, the nearest open water from the ship was 16 nautical miles away across the ice. Neither the research ship nor its passengers and crew were in immediate danger, maritime authorities said. | According to a posting on the expedition website by Dr. Turney on Dec. 31, the nearest open water from the ship was 16 nautical miles away across the ice. Neither the research ship nor its passengers and crew were in immediate danger, maritime authorities said. |
Alan Cowell reported from London, and Edward Wong from Beijing. Chen Jiehao contributed research from Beijing. |