A South African ship left from Capetown today for the Antarctic, where it will attempt to rescue 108 scientists and crew aboard a German vessel trapped in pack ice, South African officials said.
Research and rescue vessel Agulhaswill attempt to reach the German ship Magdalena Oldendorffafter a seven-day voyage covering 2,350 nautical miles, the Antarctic Logistics Centre International (ALCI) said in a statement.
ALCI spokesman Mr Gerald Hagemann said he was confident of the state of health of the crew of the Magdalena Oldendorff.
"They're cold, but they know that help is on the way and they've got enough food for another month, so they'll be fine."
The Magdalena Oldendorff, an 18,000-tonne ship chartered for a re-supply voyage by the Russian Antarctic Programme, is trapped about 300 kilometres (180 miles) from the South African Antarctic base on Queen Maud Land.
However, a South African defence forces spokesman said yesterday that rescue operations could be made difficult by the fact that it was dark in the area 24 hours a day, and temperatures drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius (minus 122 degrees Fahrenheit).
The ALCI said that according to the latest situation report, the Magdalena Oldendorff"is in a position of relative safety and will attempt to moor alongside the fast ice."
The German ship left Cape Town on April 12 but got stuck in ice sheets up to 70 kilometers (40 miles) wide as it was heading home.
AFP