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CNN Live Today
Russian Researchers Trapped in Ice in Antarctica
Aired June 19, 2002 - 11:36 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: A ship from South Africa is right now on its way to Antarctica. It's part of a mission to rescue a team of Russian researchers who are trapped right now in the ice in Antarctica, but as CNN's Ryan Chilcote reports this morning, the help is still a long way off.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just off the coast of Antarctica and more than 2,500 miles from the nearest help, a ship with more than 100 people on board has been trapped in a sea of ice since the end of May. The location so inaccessible that like the would be rescuers, no cameras can reach them. There only contact with the outside world is a satellite phone.
VYACHESLAV MARTYONOVA, COMMANDER, RUSSIAN ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION (through translator): We got stuck here on May 30th, and until June 10th the mood here was very sad and very gruesome, especially when drifting in the river of ice, flowing in a direction where no ship would ever have been able to rescue us. The mood has improved since we were able to latch ourselves on to the continent.
CHILCOTE: This week, a South African ship began moving from Cape Town to rescue the multinational crew and 79 Russian scientists on board. The original plan, join up with an Argentina ice breaker, and get as close to the ship as the ice will allow and then evacuate the scientist by helicopter.
But the ice breaker is still in port. The commander of the Russian expedition, seen here on a previous trip, is getting nervous.
MARTYONOVA (through translator):That ship won't be able to get any closer than 144 nautical miles from us. When you add the fact that we have Arctic night here and very bad weather conditions on the ocean -- snow, wind and all that -- it will be a mission impossible for the pilots. If the Argentina ice breaker doesn't move in, the South African vessel will probably not be able to help us.
CHILCOTE: Back in St. Petersburg, the scientist's boss, himself a polar explorer, tries to look at the bright side.
VALERY LUKIN, DIRECTOR, RUSSIAN ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION: Yesterday, air temperature was minus 23 degrees Celsius only, which is not so cold. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's not that cold.
CHILCOTE: That's minus 10 Fahrenheit.
Throughout their marriage, Martyonov has spent a lot of time in Antarctica, and his wife has gotten good at reading had his voice. He called had her when they started drifting.
OLGA MARTYONOVA, EXPEDITION LEADER'S WIFE (through translator): Of course he tried not to scare me but I can usually tell from his voice. He says to me we have got a difficult situation.
CHILCOTE (on camera): If all goes according to plan, help could reach the ship in a week and a half. But these scientists, who know exactly how unpredictable Antarctica can be, begun rationing off the last of their food. They think they have enough to hold out for another three weeks.
Ryan Chilcote, CNN, St. Petersburg, Russia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: We have been trying to get someone on board that ship on the telephone, and Yuri Kromov (ph) is one of the Russian scientists on board the stranded ship in Antarctica, and he joins us now by the phone. We have no idea exactly how good this phone line is. Yuri (ph), can you hear me?
YURI KROMOV (ph), RUSSIAN SCIENTIST: Yes.
HARRIS: Great.
Yuri, how are you?
KROMOV (ph): How are you? I'm well, well enough, yes. We feel ourselves well enough.
HARRIS: Can you give us a report on the conditions there on the ship right now?
KROMOV (ph): Conditions on ship, well. We will wait for help. Conditions is not bad, not bad. But we must to count on (ph) our food and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) our fuel. Food and fuel is all right (ph). Still waiting for (UNINTELLIGIBLE) help. They try to spend food and fuel for longer time.
HARRIS: Well, Yuri (ph), how long will your food last?
KROMOV (ph): What?
HARRIS: How long will your food last, yes?
KROMOV (ph): We hope that we'll have food enough until the end of this month, until the end of June we have food enough. But fuel, we will have some longer, some longer (ph), and then we hope that we will receive some food from (UNINTELLIGIBLE) by helicopter, we hope. We hope. So now we have portions (UNINTELLIGIBLE), but until July, food enough.
HARRIS: How about your fuel? Is your fuel going to last that long as well?
KROMOV (ph): Well, in spite of everything, in spite of everything, we'll wait for help. We'll wait for help, because the main help will break us, ice breaker, ice breaker. We Hope that ice breaker will come soon. Now ship Agulhas (ph) bring us only food, only food by helicopter, but the weather is very bad, weather is very, very bad. So it may happen that we'll wait for helicopter for many, many days.
HARRIS: What about on the ship right now, Yuri (ph), is it cold there on the ship?
KROMOV (ph): Repeat this. I don't understand the question.
HARRIS: OK. How -- is it very cold on the ship? Are you warm? Are you comfortable?
KROMOV (ph): On ship? On the ship it's not cold. You see, we have fuel enough to heat the ship, but we have minus 15 overboard, minus 20, minus 15, minus 20 Celsius. Yes, of course. And very windy. Now the cyclone came and it's wind is about 25 meters a second, 25 meters a second. And on ship, still we have fuel, so we not cold, not cold on ship.
HARRIS: Very good. Well, that's very good. Very good.
Yuri, can you tell me, have you talked with your family back home?
KROMOV (ph): Not yet, not yet, but one situation will be easy to call to my family for -- of course my family connects with our institute. They have information, so I think that they don't worry very much. Of course sometimes it (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Sometimes so it's not very horrible.
HARRIS: Well, Yuri (ph), there are many people in the United States wishing you luck, and we are going to continue to follow your situation. We hope ton able to catch up with you and talk with you later, perhaps before the rescue ship arrives there.
KROMOV (ph): Yes. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. We hope that future will be better than circumstances now.
HARRIS: OK, great. All right, Yuri Kromov (ph), stay warm, friend. And please, enjoy your food there while you have it.
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