Africa News Summary : News Headlines : Discussion Forums

JOHANNESBURG, June 25 (Reuters) - A South African ship rushing to the rescue of more than 100 people trapped in Antarctic ice has begun to make its way through the icefields surrounding their stranded vessel.

The oceanographic research ship Agulhas is within 650 km (400 miles) of the German-owned Magdalena Oldendorff, which ran into impassable ice on June 11 after delivering supplies to a Russian research base, organisers said on Tuesday.

They said weather conditions had improved after deteriorating badly on Monday, and hopes were high that the Agulhas would reach the 79 Russian scientists and 28 crew on the trapped ship before they ran out of food and fuel on July 15.

"The fact that we have got this close already is better than expected, but the weather is very unpredictable," said spokeswoman Tanya Back of Cape Town-based SMIT Marine South Africa.

"Captain Kevin Tate reports that the sea is 90 percent covered with ice, but it's like slush -- a soft sugary ice. He says everything is 'tootling along' fine," she told Reuters.

On Monday, the Agulhas was forced to slow down to four knots (4.8 miles per hour) after hitting winds gusting up to 60 knots (72 miles per hour), which sent swells crashing over its bow.

On Tuesday, the wind had dropped to between two and four knots, although the temperature was still falling, to below minus nine degrees Celsius. Rescuers had rushed to depart before the deepening southern winter made their mission impossible.

Back said an Argentine naval icebreaker was still due to leave Buenos Aires on Tuesday to help. A Swedish icebreaker is also on standby, she said.

In the meantime, the Agulhas will get as close as it can to the stranded vessel, with two long-range military helicopters prepared to drop additional supplies on its decks once it was within flying distance.

If the Magdalena Oldendorff remains trapped in the ice, the helicopters will transfer most of its passengers and crew to the Agulhas, leaving a skeleton staff behind with additional supplies to keep them going through the winter.

Military experts say flying the helicopters in the extreme cold and darkness will be the mission's biggest challenge. At this time of year, there are only four hours of light a day and temperatures can fall to minus 50 degrees Celsius. Nampa-Reuters

•  Time Flies While Watching Strangers Shower