Concluye la evacuación del barco ruso atrapado en el hielo de la Antártida

Foto: The Guardian

Un helicóptero chino rescata a los pasajeros y científicos del 'Akadémik Shokálskiy'

Llevaban atrapados desde el 24 de diciembre

Chinese arrival at the Shokalskiy

The helicopter from the Chinese icebreaker Xue Long has just arrived to check out the helipad we have prepared. It's great to see them and hear about all the hard work the Australian Antarctic Division's icebreaker (the Aurora australis) has been doing on our behalf. The helicopter team seem happy and just heard it is 100% certain the first of four AAE teams is off in the hour! Thanks so much for everyone's help and support. We will keep you up to date with developments. 

The Guardian

Los equipos de rescate han evacuado este jueves a los 52 pasajeros del barco ruso Akadémik Shokálskiy, que quedó atrapado en el hielo antártico el 24 de diciembre a 100 millas náuticas de la base francesa de Dumont d'Urville. 

Los 52 pasajeros ya han sido rescatados. Se quedarán a bordo los 22 tripulantes, a la espera de que las condiciones permitan mover el barco. El helicóptero del rompehielos chino Xue Long ha llevado a los pasajeros a un témpano de hielo y desde allí han sido transportados en barcaza hasta el rompehielos australiano Aurora Australis, informaron los medios locales. Los 22 miembros de la tripulación permanecerían en el navío a la espera de que se derrita el hielo para salir de la zona.

El helicóptero ha aprovechado una ventana de buen tiempo para comenzar a trasladar al pasaje formado por científicos y turistas hacia el rompehielos chino Xue Long, donde después serán transportados en una barcaza hacia el rompehielos australiano Aurora Australis. "El helicóptero chino ha llegado a @theshokalskiy. Nos vamos 100%. Muchas gracias a todos", dijo el líder de la expedición, Chris Turney a través de su cuenta de Twitter. Los rescatados están siendo depositados en un grueso témpano de hielo cercano al buque australiano.

Parte de los integrantes de la tripulación, pasan el tiempo lo mejor que pueden. / ANDREW PEACOCK (AFP)

La Autoridad Australiana de Seguridad Marítima tuvo que suspender la operación anterior debido al mal tiempo y a las condiciones del hielo marino que dificultaban el avance de la barcaza entre los rompehielos chino y australiano. Desde que el Akádemik Shokálskiy pidió ayuda en Navidad, el rescate por vía marítima y aérea había sido frustrado varias veces por culpa de las malas condiciones meteorológicas en la bahía de Commonwealth, a unos 2.778 kilómetros al sur de la ciudad australiana de Hobart.

El buque ruso rememoraba la expedición que efectuó hace un siglo el explorador Douglas Mawson en la Antártida y que ofreció el primer estudio completo del continente helado.

El país

A rescue mission is under way for scientists, tourists and journalists on a ship trapped in ice off Antarctica.

A helicopter sent from the Chinese icebreaker Xue Long landed next to the trapped Akademik Shokalskiy on Thursday afternoon and the first group of passengers was due to be evacuated shortly after 8pm local time (7am GMT). The passengers were due to be taken off in five groups, with two further flights to pick up their baggage.

By 8.30am GMT, the second group of passengers had been successfully airlifted and the helicopter had returned to pick up the third.

In a change of plan, the passengers would be taken not the Xue Long, but to an ice floe near the icebreaker Aurora Australis, which tried but failed to break through to the trapped ship earlier this week.

The expedition leader, Chris Turney, tweeted on Thursday afternoon passengers were “100% off” on the helicopter, after the day’s rescue mission had earlier been called off.

A two-stage rescue had been planned for Thursday with a helicopter taking 52 of the passengers on Akademik Shokalskiy to the Xue Long before transferring them to another ship, Aurora Australis, on a barge in a 36-hour window of decent weather.

But sea ice prevented the barge from the Aurora Australis, where the passengers would ultimately be transferred, being able to get close to Xue Long.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority released a statement at 12.45 pm on Thursday saying the safest option was to do the rescue mission in one operation.

“AMSA understands that current sea ice conditions prevent the barge from Aurora Australis from reaching the Chinese vessel Xue Long (Snow Dragon) and a rescue may not be possible today,” a spokeswoman said.

“The Xue Long’s helicopter is unable to land on the Aurora Australis due to load rating restrictions. It is not safe to land the helicopter next to Aurora Australis at this time.

“The preferred and safest option at this stage is to ultimately transfer the passengers onto Aurora Australis.”

Guardian journalist Alok Jha, who is on the Akademik Shokalskiy, earlier said the mood was subdued but optimistic and people had kept themselves busy.

“If there is any anger/upset etc I haven't seen any,” he said in an email.

“I imagine some people have had private moments of anxiety or frustration but there's no feeling of threat or any worry about danger. No one seems scared.”

The Akademik Shokalskiy became stuck in thick pack ice on Christmas Eve and the Aurora Australis and Xue Long, which are both ice breakers, had to abandon attempts to reach the trapped ship.

An attempt on New Year’s Day to evacuate the passengers by helicopter was also abandoned because of heavy rain, strong winds and cloud.

The Guardian