Ill worker rescued from reseach station in Antarctica now in a hospital in Australia

An Australian who fell ill while working at a research station in Antarctica is now in a hospital in Australia after being rescued by an icebreaker, a government agency said on Sunday.

The icebreaker RSV Nuyina’s round trip between the Australian Antarctic Division headquarters in Hobart, Tasmania, and Australia’s Casey Station covered more than 6,500 kilometers (4,000 miles) and lasted more than two weeks, as winter turned to spring in the Southern Hemisphere became.

“The RSV Nuyina has returned to Hobart following the successful medical evacuation of an ill expedition member from Casey Research Station,” the department said in a statement.

“The expedition member disembarked the RSV Nuyina and was taken to the Royal Hobart Hospital where he will receive specialist medical examination and care,” it said.

The department has neither identified the patient nor stated the medical condition.

A helicopter evacuated the patient from the research station on an ice cap and flew him to Nuyina, 144 kilometers (89 miles) away, on September 3.

The icebreaker has a medical facility where the patient was attended to by doctors and nurses from Hobart Hospital.

The icebreaker began its rescue mission from Hobart on August 24 and returned on Sunday, the division said.

In the summer there are more than 150 people at the Casey research station. But over the winter, fewer than 20 remain to perform maintenance work.

The icebreaker is preparing to return to the frozen continent for the summer season.