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American Morning
Rescue Mission Is Underway at South Pole
Aired April 25, 2001 - 11:10 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. At the bottom of the world, rescuing a sick American doctor from a research station at the South Pole. Dr. Ron Shemenski is the only physician among the 50 people at the South Pole station right now. He's suffering from pancreatitis, and it's potentially life threatening. It's at the heart of the polar winter there, and the temperature is hovering around minus 90 degrees, even colder with the wind chill.
On the phone now is Peter West of the National Science Foundation in Arlington, Virginia. Peter, we talked yesterday. Things have changed because of the weather. What do you think? Is this plane finally going to take off?
PETER WEST, NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: Well, I have no update on that. They were scheduled to take off at 10:00 a.m. this morning. I haven't had a confirmation whether they have or have not yet, and I'm waiting to hear that.
PHILLIPS: All right. Let's talk a little bit about the plane again. This is a twin-engine, eight-seater, correct?
WEST: Yes, it's called a Twin Otter. That's correct.
PHILLIPS: OK. And tell us about the pilots. Have they flown in weather like this before? Let's talk about the experience of the pilots.
WEST: Well, the pilots for Kenn Borek Air Limited of Canada, and they're a subcontractor to us. Kenn Borek flies on the continent for us during the research season in the summer in Antarctica, which is our winter. So they have a lot of experience flying in Antarctica. Moreover, they fly a lot in the Arctic and, actually, they fly the - a similar route to Antarctica in the summer to get the planes down to our stations there.
PHILLIPS: And, Peter, remind us again why the decision was made that Dr. Shemenski needed to come back to the United States?
WEST: OK. Dr. Shemenski did, as you said, have a gallstone problem, and he did have associated pancreatitis. He has been taking antibiotics to clear that problem up.
But there is -- our medical experts tell us there is a statistical possibility of a relapse, and if there were a relapse, that relapse would be serious, and so the decision was made to take Dr. Shemenski out while we could still do that, to bring him out of the station and replace with another physician, a woman named Dr. Betty Carlisle, who is now -- is on the station now. She has experience in Antarctica and has actually experienced the South Pole station previous to this.
PHILLIPS: And, once again, we -- Dr. Shemenski is feeling fine at this point. I was even told that he didn't want to leave. Is that true?
WEST: That -- I have heard reports about that, and that may well be true. It's -- it is a very important experience to be able to spend the winter at the pole if that's what you choose to do.
We at National Science Foundation have to, however, weigh the safety and health of not only Dr. Shemenski, which is very important, but also the 49 other people who will be spending the winter on the station, and so we felt it was very important to get a physician in there and to get Dr. Shemenski out and get him safely to somewhere he can get the appropriate health care.
I should note, however, there has been a registered and is a registered nurse on the station who has been assisting Dr. Shemenski until Dr. Carlisle could fly in.
PHILLIPS: And also, Peter, before we let you go, I -- could you talk a little bit about what Dr. Shemenski has accomplished while he's been there. we've been talking about his illness and that he needs to come back to the U.S., but that -- we shouldn't disregard the time that he has been there and been making quite a difference.
WEST: Well, there -- yeah. And there's important work that goes on -- scientific work that goes on at South Pole. We are looking at the origins of the universe and how all this came to happen with telescopes down there. All of the people there work toward that goal.
Dr. Shemenski was a doctor, and so he made sure that all the people there, including those who are rebuilding the station down there, stayed healthy and able to do their jobs, and that's extremely important.
PHILLIPS: All right. Peter West, National Science Foundation. Thanks again, sir, for joining us. We will continue to follow this rescue mission. Thanks again.
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