A Chinese helicopter has rescued all 52 passengers from a Russian ship that's been trapped in the Antarctic ice for over a week.

Previous rescue attempts had been hampered by bad weather and sea ice. Blinding snow, strong winds, fog and thick sea ice forced rescuers to turn back time and again. The Russian research ship left port from New Zealand on November 28 as part of a private expedition to commemorate the 100th anniversary of an Antarctic journey. It became trapped in heavy ice on December 24.

Three icebreaking ships, including China's Snow Dragon, were dispatched to help free it. The rescued passengers have now been transferred to the Australian icebreaker, the Aurora Australis. That vessel will carry the passengers to the Australian island state of Tasmania and arrive there by mid-January.

(CNTV.cn January 3, 2014)