Three injured in Antarctic chopper emergency-landing

Two Australian scientists and their pilot were injured when their helicopter made an emergency landing in Antarctica, leaving them stranded overnight on the ice, the Australian Antarctic Division said on Monday.

Two Australian scientists and their pilot were injured when their helicopter made an emergency landing in Antarctica, leaving them stranded overnight on the ice, the Australian Antarctic Division said on Monday.

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The three were returning to Australia's Davis Research Station on Sunday after surveying a penguin colony near the Amery ice shelf when the accident occurred about 150 nautical miles from the station.

The Australian Antarctic Division did not say what caused the emergency landing or detail the injuries.

"The Australian Division is hoping a weather window in the next few hours will allow further positioning of aircraft to assist with the recovery of the three people injured," Tony Fleming, the director of the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD), told reporters.

A second helicopter was travelling with the downed aircraft and was quickly able to assist the injured. "Reports from the incident site are that all are warm and sheltered and being closely monitored," said Fleming.

Davis Station is more than 4,800 nautical miles from Hobart, Tasmania, Australia's launching pad for Antarctica. Numerous scientific and tourist expeditions take place in Antarctica during the Southern Hemisphere summer, which began on Sunday.