Categories: GlobalLatest

Australian Expeditioner Evacuated from Antarctica in Five-day Mission

An Australian expeditioner has been medically evacuated from Antarctica following a five-day mission involving ships, helicopters and planes. Australia, China and the US collaborated in efforts to bring the patient back home.

The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) hailed the “outstanding success” of an operation it described as “complex and challenging”. 

Details of the patient’s condition were not made public. Officials said it was not related to coronavirus.

The expeditioner was at Australia’s Davis research station in east Antarctica when the mission began.

The AAD said that “fortunately for the operation” a Chinese icebreaker happened to pass by. It dispatched its helicopters to transfer a team of Australians to a site some 40km (25 miles) inland, so that they could build a ski-way for a US aircraft to land on and pick up the patient.

Meanwhile, the US ski-equipped Basler aircraft flew 2,200km from the US McMurdo research station to Australia’s Wilkins Aerodrome to pick up an Australian doctor.

It then flew to the ski-way near Davis, where it picked up the patient and returned to Wilkins Aerodrome.

An Australian Airbus A319 transported the patient back to the Australian city of Hobart on Christmas Eve.

The AAD said the multi-country collaboration was essential, as Australia does not currently have small ski-equipped intracontinental aircraft in Antarctica.

“Antarctica really brings nations together to support each other in our operations,” said AAD director Kim Ellis.

“We’ve been doing these medevacs for a long time, but this particular operation was in the very best spirit of that multinational cooperation.”

 

Follow us on:

AriseNews

Recent Posts

CAC Removes Innoson, Daitama, 80,000 Dormant Companies From Register For Ignoring Annual Return Deadlines

The CAC has removed dormant companies that failed to file annual reports for 10 years…

3 hours ago

NEC Gives Kwara, Kebbi, Adamawa One Week To Submit State Police Reports

NEC has set a one-week deadline for Kwara, Kebbi, and Adamawa to submit state police…

5 hours ago

Amazon Faces Potential EU Investigation Over Preferential Treatment Of Own Products

Amazon may face an EU investigation over preferential treatment of its own products under the…

5 hours ago

Akpabio Hails Igbo Resilience + Ndume Begs Senate To Allow Ubah’s Widow Succeed Him – Trending With Ojy Okpe

https://cdn.veri.app/a21afe40-c7c7-4a5c-b145-4fc72382ab4b.mp4 Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, during the night of tribute, held in honour of the…

5 hours ago

Kano Governor Yusuf Reunites 76 Pardoned Minors To Families

The Kano State government has reunited 79 pardoned minors accused of looting in the #End…

5 hours ago

Matt Gaetz Steps Down as Trump’s Attorney General Pick

Matt Gaetz has announced that he is withdrawing his name from consideration as Donald Trump’s…

5 hours ago