US expeditioner rescued from Antarctica | CNN

A US expeditioner in Antarctica was rescued last month in a daring mid-winter medical evacuation by an Australian aviation team in the middle of crippling temperatures and near pitch-black conditions. The “extraordinary” mission kicked off on July 28, when the Australian Antarctic Division made an “urgent request for assistance” for a medical evacuation from the US McMurdo Antarctic research station, according to Skytraders, the Australian airline specializing in flights to the vast, frozen continent. After an initial attempt on July 29 was delayed by severe weather, Skytraders’ Airbus A319 — named Snowbird 1 — departed Australia on July 31 at 2:44 am local time, and reached McMurdo station more than five hours later, the airline said, landing in “extremely challenging conditions” including complete darkness and temperatures dipping to –45.5 F (-43 C). After safely transferring the American patient onto the plane, the mission departed Antarctica “ahead of deteriorating conditions,” Skytraders said, and then flew to Christchurch, New Zealand, where the patient was treated. No details about the patient have been provided, and Health New Zealand would not discl