A helicopter rescue operation for 52 on-board passengers of a
Russian research ship Akademik Shokalskiy which has been stuck at the Commonwealth Bay since the Christmas Eve has been
delayed due to bad weather. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority has also
denied any chances of rescue even today.
AMSA has said that the Chinese ice breaker Xue Long’s
helicopter is not able to land on the Aurora Australis due to the load
restrictions and it is also not safe to land the helicopter next to the AMSA
vessel. Although all the passengers are safe and well and alternative rescue
operation plans are being examined now.
The rescue operation is expected to take several hours
because the passengers are to be flown by the helicopter in the group of 12 to
the Xue Long bay which is the nearest place. The 12 crew members will still remain on board
on this Russian Ship.
Although every flight of the rescue helicopter is subject to
weather conditions, each flight will take around 45 minutes hence the entire
operation will take at least 5 hours to get completed. The spokesperson of AMSA
John Young has said that the passengers will not be back to Hobart until mid-January.
