The Aussie icebreaker “Aurora Australis” was forced to give up its effort to cut through the Antarctic ice to rescue a ship with 74 people on board, because of a nasty blizzard.  The storm effectively grounds any plans to use helicopters to rescue the passengers, the last back-up following three failed rescue attempts.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) says the Aurora Australis had to return to open waters about 18 nautical miles from the stranded Russian ship “Akademik Shokalskiy” because of poor visibility. 

“We can't fly a helicopter in these conditions either. There is essentially nothing we can do at this point of time,” said AMSA spokeswoman Lisa Martin.

A Chinese Ice Breaker called “Snow Dragon” got within sight of the stranded Russian ship, but had to turn back because the ice was too thick.  A French boat was also called back. 

The Akademik Shokalskiy's 74 passengers include mostly Australian scientists and tourists, six kiwis, and 22 Russian crew.  They had set out from NZ on 28 November to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Douglas Mawson’s Antarctic journey, but got stuck in the ice on Christmas Eve.  There’s a growing chance they’ll spend New Year’s there as well.