An American researcher in Antarctica required an emergency medical evacuation in July, which was carried out by Skytraders from Australia, several US media reported on Friday. As the aviators noted in a statement to the Associated Press (AP), they had to get to the patient in the middle of the Antarctic winter – in almost complete darkness and at a temperature of -43 °C (-45.4 °F).
What exactly happened to the researcher is not revealed, nor is his identity. The US National Science Foundation, which oversees Antarctic expeditions, told Australia's ABC that the patient was taken to a hospital in Christchurch in New Zealand in “serious condition.” A similar Australian department confirmed that the evacuee still remains in hospital.
The rescue took place on July 31 after the operation was postponed two days due to bad weather. As the pilots of the Airbus A319 on which the researcher was taken out told CNN, the plane operated “at the limit of its capabilities”, landing and taking off from the American McMurdo station in Antarctica. Immediately after the successful evacuation, weather conditions in the area became even worse.
“Most runways [в Антарктиде] – This is simply compacted snow, which is why snow plows are usually used. They create a runway with enough friction for the plane to stop, but also smooth and clean enough,” co-pilot Louise Robertson explained to CNN.
In total, the rescue of the researcher took approximately 10 and a half hours – more than five hours each on the road from Australia to Antarctica, and then to New Zealand. Robertson noted that she was able to relax only when approaching Christchurch and thanked the international team with the participation of meteorologists for the success of the mission.
