A helicopter from the Xue Long (Snow Dragon) Chinese icebreaker unloads rescued passengers from the ice-bound Russian ship, Akademik Shokalskiy, in East Antarctica, some 100 nautical miles (185 km) east of French Antarctic station Dumont D'Urville and about 1,500 nautical miles (2,800 km) south of Hobart, Tasmania, January 2, 2014, in this handout courtesy of Fairfax's Australian Antarctic Division. A rescue effort to remove 52 passengers on board a research ship that had been trapped in Antarctica ice for nine days was successful, and they were evacuated safely by helicopter, the expedition leader said on Thursday. A helicopter from the Chinese icebreaker Snow Dragon ferried the passengers in small groups several times from the Russian ship and transferred them to an Australian Antarctic supply ship, the Aurora Australis. Picture taken January 2, 2014. REUTERS/Fairfax/Australian Antarctic Division/Handout via Reuters (ANTARCTICA - Tags: ENVIRONMENT DISASTER) NO SALES. NO ARCHIVES. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS
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