Passengers stranded on icebound ship await helicopter

Passengers on board a research ship trapped in Antarctic ice for a week are pinning their hopes on a helicopter rescue after three icebreakers failed to reach the paralysed vessel.

The 74 scientists, tourists and crew on the Russian ship MV Akademik Shokalskiy, which has been stuck since Christmas Eve, were hoping the Australian icebreaker Aurora Australis would be able to get through the thick ice and allow them to continue on their way.