MOSCOW. Oct 15 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian Air Force pilots rescued the crew of a Russian commercial ship caught in an ice trap in the Arctic Ocean, Colonel Alexander Drobyshevsky, the Russian Air Force press service chief, told Interfax-Military News Agency Friday.
"Two MI-8 Hip helicopters of the Air Force evacuated 30 crewmembers of the ship caught in the ice," he said.
He added that the Emergencies Ministry department of the Russian republic of Sakha (Yakutia) asked the Air Force command at 5:01 a.m. Moscow time (0101GMT) Friday to assist in rescuing the crew of a commercial vessel, caught in the ice 200 km away from Tiksi.
The ship was discovered at 6:05 a.m. (0205 GMT) by two MI-8 and one AN-12 Cub aircraft. Evacuation started at 6:13 a.m. (0213 GMT) and was over at 8:51 a.m. (0451 GMT), all 30 crewmembers rescued.
Drobyshevsky added that the operation was supervised by Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Polovnev, deputy commander of an Air Force unit, deployed in the region.