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Copter Rescues Researchers on Arctic Ice

Posted on: Saturday, 6 March 2004, 06:00 CST

A dozen Russian researchers who had been stranded on an Arctic ice floe were picked up by helicopter and brought to solid land Saturday, the Minister of Emergency Situations said.

The rescue operation some 400 miles from the North Pole came three days after a large section of their floe disappeared underwater, taking four of the research station's six buildings with it and raising concern for the researchers' safety.

Two Russian helicopters left the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, some 450 miles southeast of the floe early Saturday and returned with the researchers, their remaining equipment and two dogs about 10 hours later.

None of the researchers was reported to have been injured in the collapse of their floe. Renowned polar explorer and parliament deputy speaker Artur Chilingarov, who took part in the rescue, said he expected the men would be able to make a festive return to the mainland.

"We hope that the polar researchers and their families will be able to celebrate the holiday in a homey environment," he was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency, referring to Monday's International Women's Day, which is a major holiday in Russia.

The rescue effort involved two helicopters - an Mi-8 that located the researchers, landed on the ice floe and transmitted its coordinates; and a heavy-load Mi-26 that loaded up the researchers and their equipment.

The meteorological research station North Pole-32 had set up operations on the floe in April 2003. On Wednesday, a large part of the floe went underwater. Although officials said the researchers were left with an adequate amount of space on the ice, preparations for the rescue began immediately.

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