The latest attempt to rescue dozens of passengers stranded aboard a Russian research ship stuck in the Antarctic ice has been delayed.
A helicopter had been expected Thursday to evacuate the passengers, 12 at a time, from the MV Akademik Shokalskiy, which has now been stuck for over a week.
However, Australian authorities said sea ice is preventing a barge from reaching one of the rescue vessels where the passengers were to have been temporarily dropped.
Blizzard conditions hampered previous attempts to evacuate the passengers by helicopter. Icebreaker ships from China, Australia, and France have also failed to reach the Russian vessel.
Seventy-four scientists, tourists and crew members are on board the MV Akademik Shokalskiy, which has weeks of supplies and is in no danger of sinking.
Most of the 22-member Russian crew are expected to stay behind and wait for the ice to break up naturally.
The Russian ship, which left New Zealand on November 28, was trying to recreate Australian explorer Douglas Mawson’s century-old voyage to Antarctica.
Source-Voice Of America
