Antarctic rescue operation completed for ship trapped in ice since Christmas Eve

All 52 passengers stuck on the ice-bound research vessel Akademik Shokalskiy have been rescued.

17:14 02 January 2014

In a dramatic Antarctica rescue, dozens of scientists and tourists were plucked from a trapped Chinese ice-breaker and transferred aboard the ship Aurora Australis by Australian rescuers.

The Chinese-ran Shokalskiy has been trapped since 24 December following an assault of thick ice sheets driven by unusually strong winds roughly 1,500 nautical miles south of Hobart - the capital of the Australian state of Tasmania.

The ship's 22 strong crew are expected to remain on board to wait until the vessel becomes free.

The boat was being used by the Australasian Antarctic Expedition. They were following the path intrepid explorer Douglas Mawson made 100 years ago.

"We've made it to the Aurora australis safe & sound. A huge thanks to the Chinese & @AusAntarctic for all their hard work!," expedition leader Chris Turney tweeted.

A BBC staff member was on board and described his 15-minute rescue flight as a "white-knuckle ride".