Passengers Rescued From Antarctica

A red-and-white Chinese helicopter on Thursday, January the 2^nd, rescued 52 passengers trapped a little over a week aboard an icebound Russian research ship in Antarctica. The Chinese helicopter was transporting them a dozen at a time to an Australian icebreaker. The helicopter, based, Snow Dragon, flew across miles of packed ice to pluck scientists, tourists and journalists from a landing zone next to the stranded vessel, the Akademik Shokalskiy. The blue-hulled Russian ship was surrounded by such a thick and extensive pack ice that it could not move, and even vessels designed specifically to break through ice could not get near. The rescue was closely followed around the world by scientists as well as many others, with journalists on board sending progress reports as the passengers were lifted to safety aboard the Australian icebreaker, the Aurora Australis. For more information, click Here.