Aussie icebreaker nears ship stranded off Antarctica

[NEW YORK] An Australian icebreaker worked its way slowly through thick ice off Antarctica early yesterday in the latest attempt to rescue about 70 people aboard a stranded research ship.

The ship, the 71-metre Akademik Shokalskiy, became stuck in the ice last Tuesday when strong winds pushed loose pack ice up against it near Cape de la Motte, about 2,735 kilometres south of Hobart, Tasmania. It is carrying the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, scientists and tourists who are studying changes to the environment of East Antarctica in the century since the region was first explored.

By yesterday, the icebreaker, the Aurora Australis, was 11 nautical miles from the Shokalskiy, according to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which is coordinating the rescue operation. Chris Turney, a leader of the research expedition, said from the ship: "We've been in contact with them and we can see them."