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American Morning

A Wing and a Prayer for South Pole Rescue

Aired April 25, 2001 - 10:01   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: Let's get back to a story we've been following quite a bit this week. For an ailing physician stranded at one of the most isolated outposts in the world, hope and life-saving medical treatment may rest on a wing and a prayer, literally.

At any moment now, a small propeller plane is due to take off on the final leg of its daring polar rescue. It's already plunged into the heart of the polar winter to pluck the 59-year-old American from a research station in Antarctica. Now, though, it has to airlift him back across half of that icy continent in the dark before he's taken on to Punta Arenas, Chile, the nearest airport in the Western Hemisphere.

And that is where CNN national correspondent Gary Tuchman picks up the story for us this morning. He joins us, as you can see here, on a videophone -- Gary, what's the word?

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Leon.

Within the next few minutes, we do expect the South Pole rescue mission to continue. A small plane is in place right now at the South Pole waiting to take off with the ill U.S. doctor.

This morning, we just received a call a short time ago, 10:00 Eastern time is the go time for that plane to leave the South Pole with the ill doctor. We expect an update any minute to see if the plane did indeed leave.

The doctor's name is Ronald Shemenski. He's 59 years old. He's from Oak Harbor, Ohio, one of 50 researchers at the U.S. scientific base right in the middle of Antarctica at the South Pole. It's called the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. But he's the only physician.

And he was recently diagnosed with pancreatitis. That's a potentially life-threatening condition. Therefore, it was decided that he must leave the South Pole immediately.

Now, February through October is the polar winter. You usually don't fly planes in there. It's much too dangerous. You definitely don't fly planes there May, June, July and August.

The decision was made if you're going to fly a plane in there, you're going to have to do it now to get him out on time. So yesterday, the plane finally left a British base at the tip of Antarctica and arrived at the U.S. base at 8:00 last night.

Now they're hoping to leave 14 hours later for a 10-hour flight back to the Rothera British station on the tip of Antarctica. And then the plan is to come here to Punta Arenas, Chile. This is the southernmost city closest to the South Pole. They hope to be here by tomorrow.

Behind me, the Straits of Magellan. Also behind me, the famous Tierra del Fuego. This is the point where that doctor will come before going back home to Ohio.

This is Gary Tuchman, CNN, live in Punta Arenas, Chile.

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