A simple relief of three Polish scientists from Polish base Henryk Arctowski, located in the Antarctic Peninsula, turned into hours of desperation for the three European scientists, who had set sail in a Zodiac boat and got stranded between the ice and the frigid sea due to a mechanical flaw.
On the 24th of September around 09:30, an emergency message from the Polish base was received by personnel of the Chilean Air Force in the Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva base, located in King George Island. The message stated that the Zodiac, with three crewmen, had its engine propeller broken, which left the boat adrift in the barren area of Admiralty Bay, 7 kilometers from their own base.
A Bell 412 helicopter took off from Teniente Rodolfo Marsh airfield as a response to the requested rescue operation, and traveled 24 kilometers to the scene of the event, where it was able to sight the stranded scientists. The helicopter set above the boat and with a hoist rescued its crewmen and brought them inside of the airship
After the salvage operation, the three Polish were taken to their base, where the nurse verified their good health after checking them.
In a release, the Fourth Air Brigade emphasized that the presence of air assets during the whole year in the Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva airbase helps to fulfil SAR tasks, since it allows the fast deployment of assets and crews wherever they may be needed in the event of an emergency. It also helps to keep a permanent connectivity with the rest of national and foreign bases present in the continent.