俄罗斯南极考察船被困乘客全部获救

Dozens of scientists and tourists who spent over a week aboard a vessel trapped in Antarctic ice were rescued Thursday in an international effort that followed multiple attempts thwarted by the region's harsh climate.

中困南极海域逾一周的俄罗斯科考船上的数十名科学家和游客已于周四在多国努力下获救。之前的数次营救行动都因南极地区恶劣的气候条件而失败。

The 52 were safely rescued by a transport helicopter from a Chinese icebreaker that landed on a makeshift helipad of ice near their stricken Russian reSearch vessel. In multiple flights, it transferred about 12 at a time to an Australian vessel, where they will begin their journeys home, said authorities involved in the operation.

来自中国破冰船的一架运输直升机降落在受困的俄罗斯科考船附近的临时冰面停机坪上，并分批次将船上52人安全转移。参与此次救援行动的有关方面称，这架中国直升机每次运送12人，将受困人员转移到一艘澳大利亚船只上。他们将从这里启程回国。

'Great relief!' scientific expedition leader Chris Turney said in a Twitter TWTR +6.05% message.

科考队队长Chris Turney在推特上说：这是一次伟大的救援行动！

The airlift operation was confirmed by China's official Xinhua news agency, which has a reporter aboard the Chinese icebreaker, the Xue Long, or Snow Dragon. A statement from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, in charge of coordinating the operation, indicated passengers were safely transferred by early evening to the Australian icebreaker Aurora Australis.

中国官方媒体新华社证实了此次空中救援行动。中国破冰船“雪龙号”上有一名新华社记者。负责本次援救协调工作的澳大利亚海事安全局(Australian Maritime Safety Authority)发表的公告显示，受困科考船上的乘客已在傍晚时分被安全转移至澳大利亚“极光”号破冰船上。

Trapped in a particularly thick ice floe just before Christmas on its way toward Antarctica, the Russian research vessel Akademik Shokalskiy remains immobile. Its 22-member crew is staying aboard. While the passengers weren't in imminent danger, they expressed frustration as holidays passed but also maintained their spirits, including by stamping out the makeshift helipad with their feet on New Year's Day.

就在圣诞节之前，俄罗斯“绍卡利斯基院士”(Akademik Shokalskiy)号南极考察船被困在厚厚的浮冰中，目前仍无法前进。该船的22名船员仍留在船上。虽然乘客们不会立刻面临危险，但他们因节日已过而感到沮丧。不过他们依然十分振作，在新年当天用自己的双脚踩出了一个临时停机坪。

Thursday's rescue marked only the latest attempt to get close to the blue-hulled Russian vessel since it first called for help on Christmas Day. Over the past few days, ice-breaking vessels from China, Australia and France have made separate unsuccessful bids to cut through thick layers of ice to reach it.

周四的救援行动是这艘蓝色俄罗斯科考船在圣诞节发出求救信号以来的最新一次救援尝试。过去几天，来自中国、澳大利亚和法国的破冰船都曾试图穿过厚厚的冰层接近受困考察船，但均无功而返。

After the rescue got under way Thursday afternoon under bright blue skies, video footage showed the twin-blade helicopter touching down gingerly on the makeshift helipad. Passengers wearing identical red life jackets walked in single file on the ice toward the helicopter.

周四下午救援行动开始，录像片段显示，这架双叶直升机谨慎地降落在临时停机坪上。身穿红色救生衣的乘客们排成一列向直升机走去。

Just hours before Thursday's rescue, Australian maritime authorities had announced natural conditions would cause them to abandon the mission yet again. Illustrating the caution, China's State Oceanic Administration, which runs the Xue Long, posted a statement on its website quoting its captain, Wang Jianzhong, as saying he was working continuously to ensure the icebreaker itself wouldn't get trapped in the thick ice.

就在周四展开救援行动之前的数小时，澳大利亚海事安全局还宣布，他们将因自然条件恶劣而再次取消这次救援任务。负责“雪龙”号的中国国家海洋局在其网站上发表公告，援引“雪龙”号船长王建忠的话称，他正不断努力，确保“雪龙”号不要陷入厚冰层之中。

In outlining the plan ahead of the flights, authorities said Chinese rescuers would fly 12 passengers at a time initially to the Xue Long, which was waiting 12 nautical miles away from the Russian craft in more open water, and then the Aurora Australis, waiting a further two nautical miles away.

有关部门在救援飞行行动前介绍方案时说，中国救援人员将首先每次运送12名乘客到位于12海里外更开阔水域的“雪龙”号上，然后再转运到两海里外的 “南极光”号上。

Mr. Turney, a professor of climate change at the University of New South Wales, offered in his Twitter messages a 'huge thanks' to the Chinese and Australian authorities for ensuring all are 'safe and sound.'

Turney是新南威尔士大学(University of New South Wales)气候变化方面的教授。他在推特消息中“万分感谢”中方和澳方确保所有人都“平安无事”。

The incident has highlighted the dangers of Antarctic travel even during the southern-summer months. Usually at this time of year, international attention on the frozen continent is typically limited to clashes between Japan's research whaling fleet and antiwhaling activists.

此次事件凸显出即便是在南半球夏季的几个月中，开展南极之行也存在很大危险。每年的这个时候，国际社会对这片冰冻大陆的关注通常仅限于日本研究捕鲸船与反捕鲸活动人士之间的冲突。

'All the world is making a fuss,' some passengers sang in an impromptu New Year's message recorded at a party in a common room on board the Russian ship by a journalist from Britain's Guardian newspaper. The group cheered and clapped to count down the last moments of 2013. Both passengers and crew have spent their time tweeting messages and videos of their experience.

英国《卫报》(Guardian)的一名记者记录下了这艘俄罗斯船上一个公共休息室内举办的派对上一些乘客即兴唱起的新年贺词：“全世界都在热烈欢呼”。人们欢呼、鼓掌、倒数计时辞旧迎新。乘客和船员都在推特上发布了有关他们经历的消息和视频。

Most of those on the Russian ship were part of a privately funded expedition whose aim is to retrace Australian explorer Douglas Mawson's trek to Antarctica about a century ago, and to measure any changes to the polar environment since then.

这艘俄罗斯船上的大部分人都是一个私人资助的探险队的成员，他们的目的在于重走澳大利亚探险家道格拉斯•莫森(Douglas Mawson)大约一个世纪前走过的南极探险之路，同时考察从那之后极地环境的变化。

The ship is stranded about 1,500 nautical miles south of Hobart, the capital of Australia's Tasmania state. Australian maritime authorities have overall responsibility for the rescue operation because the ship is trapped in an area that falls within the country's Antarctic search-and-rescue zone.

这艘船被困在澳大利亚塔斯马尼亚州首府霍巴特以南大约1,500海里的地方。澳大利亚海事部门是这次救援行动的总负责方，因为这艘船是被困在位于该国的南极搜救区内。

In addition to research team leader Mr. Turney, other scientists come from a range of disciplines, including marine ecology, terrestrial ecology, ornithology and oceanography.

除科考队领队Turney外，其他科学家来自各个领域，包括海洋生态学、陆地生态学、鸟类学和海洋学。

Pack ice, solid sheets of ice up to several meters thick, is a major hazard for vessels navigating the harsh Antarctic, where temperatures can fall to below minus 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

浮冰是在条件恶劣的南极航行的船只所面临的一项主要危险。浮冰是质地结实的冰层，厚度可达数米。南极的气温最低可至零下100华氏度（约合零下73摄氏度）。

In 1985, the Nella Dan, an Australian research vessel, was trapped for 48 days in the Antarctic. A year later, the Southern Quest, carrying a British expedition, was crushed by ice and sank.

1985年，澳大利亚科考船“Nella Dan”号在南极被困48天。一年后，一支英国探险队搭载的“Southern Quest”号被冰撞坏沉没。

More recently, in 2010 icebreakers had to be used to free nearly 1,000 people whose ferry was among dozens of vessels trapped by ice in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Sweden.

2010年，人们不得不使用破冰船将近1,000人救出。除他们乘坐的船外，还有数十艘船在瑞典附近的波罗的海被冰所困。