A successful rescue mission was staged on Thursday morning for the passengers on the Russian-flagged MV Akademik Shokaskiy, which became trapped 10 days ago in unusually thick ice in the waters of Antarctica.

All 52 Passengers Rescued

The 52 passengers aboard the ship were members of a research team comprised of scientists, journalists and tourists. Among them was Australian professor Chris Turney, who used Twitter to report updates on their mission to get off the stranded vessel.

"It's 100% we're off! A huge thanks to all," Turney tweeted. He added later, “We’ve made it to the Aurora australis safe & sound. A huge thanks to the Chinese & @AusAntarctic for all their hard work! #spiritofmawson.”

After multiple thwarted rescue attempts, the passengers were ultimately retrieved by a helicopter from a nearby Chinese icebreaker. They were then carried in shifts to Australian icebreaker Aurura Australis. In earlier attempts, the 10-feet-thick ice kept the icebreakers at bay, and high winds prevented the helicopter from safely completing the flight.

Research Team To Return To Australia By Mid January

Now upon the Aurora Australis, the research group still has a substantial amount of time before they’re due to reach Hobart in the Australian state of Tasmania. According to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s John Young, they likely won’t come into the port until mid-January.

While the research team heads back to Australia, the Russian crewmembers of the Akademik Shokaskiy remain on board the stranded ship. The master of the vessel determined that the 22 members of the crew have plenty of supplies to remain on the ship to wait until the thick ice breaks up and allows them to power through.

Turney and the rest of the researchers began their journey on Nov. 27, with the mission of learning the effects of climate change in the Antarctic.

– Chelsea Regan

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