Rescue a scientist who is sick in Antarctica

A team of Australian medical doctors and a jet of this country were dispatched to Antarctica and will land on ice to save a sick scientist at the US McMurdo Station.

The Australian Antarctic Unit (AAD), a branch of the government's environmental department, said that the US National Science Foundation (NSF) had asked them for help.

American McMurdo Station.

NSF spokesman Debbie Wing said the United States had no aircraft to serve the mission, so Australia agreed to lease the Airbus A319 to remove patients from Antarctica. The Royal New Zealand Air Force will provide search and rescue operations for flights.

"The Australian team will be in Christchurch, New Zealand by the end of August 9 and will fly to McMurdo Station when the weather and light are favorable , " the AAD said.

The new Antarctic appears after six months of darkness and Wing says the pilots plan to go to a runway near the station. She did not specify the patient but said the person "is stable but will need immediate surgery, which is beyond the capabilities of McMurdo station".

AAD director Tony Fleming said that every country has an interest in Antarctica so "work closely together in this emergency situation to support it when needed".

Evacuation to medical emergencies in Antarctica is very rare. The last time this was done was in October 2010, when an American scientist suffered a stroke at Amundsen-Scott Station.

About 30 countries have placed long-term research stations in Antarctica, including the United States, China, Russia, Britain, France, Argentina and Australia.