The Russian nuclear icebreaker Yamal is to join a rescue operation in the North Pole. The Yamal crew will rescue two members of an American expedition who planned to conquer the North Pole in an unprecedented summer-time expedition, sources in the Murmansk Sea Shipping Company told Interfax.
Lonnie Dupre and Eric Larsen started their journey from Canada in early May, but they failed to take all the difficulties of the endeavor into account. One of them fell so seriously ill that the two had to seek aid, company spokesman Vladimir Blinov said.
"Viktor Boyarsky, a well-known Russian traveler and director of the Arctic and Antarctic Museum in St.Petersburg, responded to the call and got in touch with our company, which is wrapping up preparations for the nuclear powered charter liner Yamal's journey," Blinov said.
The Yamal left Murmansk on Sunday and is expected to reach the North Pole on July 8, he said. The rescue operation has been negotiated with the Russian Foreign Ministry. "It is not the first time Murmansk crews come to the rescue of foreign travelers individual trekkers and crews in the Arctic," said Blinov
