Aurora Australis: Antarctica icebreaker passengers rescued

Thirty-seven people stranded on Australia's flagship
icebreaker, which ran aground in Antarctica, have
been rescued, authorities said.
The Aurora Australis had broken free of its mooring
lines on Wednesday following a severe blizzard.
The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) said a
barge ferried the expedition members to the Mawson
research station after weather conditions improved.
Thirty-one crew members remain onboard to refloat
the vessel.
The AAD said the refloating process, where the crew
will attempt to move the ship off the rocks, would
take several hours, and that afterwards the ship
would be taken to a nearby sheltered area for
inspections.
The vessel incurred a small breach in the hull when
it ran aground, which the AAD said poses no risk
to the ship's stability or to the environment. It
added there was no fuel spilled so far.
The Aurora Australis left Hobart in Tasmania on 11
January and carried out marine science research
around the Kerguelen Plateau, a submerged
continent that extends for 2,200km (1,365 miles),
before arriving at Mawson on Saturday.
It broke free of mooring lines at 09:15 local time
(04:15 GMT) on Wednesday, amid winds of more
than 130kph (80mph), and ran aground at West
Arm in Horseshoe Harbour.
It was also scheduled to pick up another group of
expedition members from Davis research station.
The AAD said on Friday that this group would now
be flown to Casey research station, and then flown
home in coming days.
The Aurora Australis, which is 95m long and
weighs 3,911 tonnes, was launched in 1989 and is
capable of breaking ice that is up to 1.2m thick.
The ship is designed to cope with heavy seas and
contains laboratories that are used for biological,
oceanographical and meteorological research. It also
has a gym, library and recreation areas.