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(CNN) -- After 10 days stranded far from home, all 52 passengers from a ship stuck in Antarctic ice have now been transferred by helicopter to an Australian icebreaker.
"It's 100% we're off! A huge thanks to all," tweeted Chris Turney, an Australian professor among the group of scientists, journalists and tourists marooned on the ship.
A helicopter from a nearby Chinese icebreaker ferried passengers Thursday to the Australian icebreaker, the Aurora Australis.
The rescue is the latest chapter in a saga that began Christmas Eve after the Russian-flagged MV Akademik Shokalskiy got stuck in unusually thick ice. Officials abandoned a succession of other rescue attempts in recent days because of the treacherous conditions in the region.
Earlier Thursday, Australian authorities had said a plan involving the helicopter and a barge was put on hold because of shifting ice conditions.
But the new approach, which skipped the use of the barge, got under way later in the day. Turney posted videos showing the helicopter arriving on a makeshift helipad on the ice near the trapped ship and taking off into the crisp blue sky.
Robert Darvill, chief mate on the Aurora Australis, told CNN that the 52 new passengers on board were very happy to be there and kept thanking the icebreaker's crew for their efforts.
"They are on their second dinner of the night right now," he said.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/02/world/antarctica-ship-stuck/
"It's 100% we're off! A huge thanks to all," tweeted Chris Turney, an Australian professor among the group of scientists, journalists and tourists marooned on the ship.
A helicopter from a nearby Chinese icebreaker ferried passengers Thursday to the Australian icebreaker, the Aurora Australis.
The rescue is the latest chapter in a saga that began Christmas Eve after the Russian-flagged MV Akademik Shokalskiy got stuck in unusually thick ice. Officials abandoned a succession of other rescue attempts in recent days because of the treacherous conditions in the region.
Earlier Thursday, Australian authorities had said a plan involving the helicopter and a barge was put on hold because of shifting ice conditions.
But the new approach, which skipped the use of the barge, got under way later in the day. Turney posted videos showing the helicopter arriving on a makeshift helipad on the ice near the trapped ship and taking off into the crisp blue sky.
Robert Darvill, chief mate on the Aurora Australis, told CNN that the 52 new passengers on board were very happy to be there and kept thanking the icebreaker's crew for their efforts.
"They are on their second dinner of the night right now," he said.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/02/world/antarctica-ship-stuck/
