Ice Station Melted Beneath Them -- Helos To The Rescue

Perhaps we didn't hear much about it, but all of Russia has been riveted on the fate of an Arctic exploration team after the ocean swallowed up 90 percent of their research station last week. Now, the team is home safe, thanks to a daring aerial rescue.

"We knew we would be rescued in time," said Vladimir Kochelev, the head of the first permanent Russia ice flow station in the Arctic since the Soviet Union broke up in 1991. Neither Kochelev nor his 12 fellow researchers was injured in the nail-biting episode.

Most of North Pole-32 sank into the frigid waters after the ice beneath the research facility suddenly melted Wednesday night. Kochelev and his team said the station virtually disappeared beneath the waves in less than a half-hour.

The only hope to reach the stranded scientists was by air. So Russia launched an Mi-26 helicopter to the top of the world, not sure if the rescue attempt would succeed.

"The place is at our maximum flying range, devoid of reference points and completely white. But the main thing is to find the people. One must bear in mind that no one has done anything of this kind before," Igor Lavrenyuk, deputy commander of the local aviation squadron, told state television.

The helicopter did navigate its way to the beleaguered scientists, but its crew was unsure if it would be able to land. The crew brought along rope ladders, just in case, but they proved unneeded. The helo was able to land on the ice and the scientists, who ironically were researching climate change, were able to scramble on board.

FMI: www.aari.nw.ru