The crew was rescued Akademik Shokalskiy

The captain of the Aurora Australis confirmed that " 52 passenger Akademik Shokalskiy are already aboard the boat " Australian, announced the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) .

The 52 passengers on the Russian ship Akademik Shokalskiy , blocked since December 24 in Antarctica , were rescued on Thursday by helicopter and are safe in an Australian vessel .

Passengers of the expedition were transported in groups of 12 for a 12 helicopter of the Chinese icebreaker Xue Long to the Australian vessel .

After several failed attempts , the Chinese helicopter could start Withdrawal of the passengers on the afternoon of Thursday.

AMSA , who led the operation , said that all passengers arrived safely at Aurora Australis at 22.15 ( 9:15 a.m. GMT), nearly four hours after the start of the ransom .

The expedition leader Chris Turney , expressed relief at Twitter . "We managed to reach the Aurora Australis safe and sound . A huge thanks to Chinese and Australian Antarctic Division for their hard work ," he wrote .

The crew of the Akademik Shokalskiy remain on board until the vessel is able to go back to browsing .

The Russian ship , with 22 crew and 52 passengers on board , among scientists and tourists , is blocked since December 24 in an area situated 100 nautical miles east of the French base Dumont d' Urville .

The rescue operation began later than planned as a result of unfavorable weather conditions , reported to AMSA .
Until then all rescue attempts had failed.
Icebreakers mobilized were forced to return by the inability of fracturing glaciers . On Monday , the Aurora Australis was also forced to retire because of bad weather , but remained in the region to coordinate operations with the Chinese icebreaker .
The helicopter will make other trips to retrieve scientific equipment and passenger baggage
The vessel was a fit for the navigation area at this time of year, but a sudden change in weather conditions caused a glacial drift for a zone in which remained blocked .
The mission , which reproduces the historic Antarctic expedition held a century (1911-1914) by Australian explorer Douglas Mawson , had started three weeks ago.
Passengers received the new year with joy, singing a hymn composed to give a warm welcome to 2014 .
Chris Turney said he received in 2014 with a glass of Australian wine , and composing music helped keep the mood on the boat. " The truth is it was pretty amazing ," he told AFP by Skype .
He also said that the people on board were able to organize entertainment activities such as scientific packing material or some classes of varying themes such as sewing and parsley . According to Turney , the situation allowed prisoners demonstrate their skills .