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Three staff members from the National Science Foundation were evacuated from a U.S. research base after a medical emergency. The mission is one of the most challenging the air force can undertake.
By Jonathan Wolfe
The Royal New Zealand Air Force evacuated three people from a U.S. research base in Antarctica on Wednesday, conducting a rare and highly dangerous mission through volatile weather and 24-hour darkness to rescue the individuals.
The evacuation at McMurdo Station, the United States’ main outpost in Antarctica, was requested by the National Science Foundation after a staff member required urgent medical care and was unable to be treated there, the air force said in a statement. Two other people who needed medical care were also taken on the flight.
