The 74 people on a research ship stuck in ice in the Antarctic won't be able to celebrate too much at midnight on New Year's Eve as a rescue helicopter could show up at any time, according to Reuters.
The Russian MV Akademik Shokalskiy has been stuck for almost a week after getting stuck in thick ice on Christmas Eve. The passengers are supposedly doing okay so far.
"The group on this ship is incredibly collegiate," said Alok Jha, a science correspondent for The Guardian newspaper, said to Anderson Cooper 360. "There are a lot of skills and things people are sharing with each other."
The boat is stuck about 100 nautical miles east of a French Antarctic station, Dumont D'Urville, according to Reuters.
The ship is located in one of the most remote and coldest locations on Earth, but passengers and crew are ready to leave "at any moment" as a rescue helicopter should arrive sometime today.
"Tonight's celebrations have been tempered by the knowledge that we will definitely be getting helicoptered off, basically at the earliest opportunity, once the weather improves," Andrew Peacock, the ship's doctor, said by satellite telephone, according to Reuters.
The ship left for its current expedition on Nov. 28 from New Zealand to celebrate the 100th anniversary of an Antarctic journey by Australian explorer Douglas Mawson.
There is enough supplies and fresh food on board the ship to last for two weeks, according to Reuters.
"The vessel is fine, it's safe and everyone on board is very well," said Chris Turney, an Australian professor of climate change at the University of New South Wales said, according to CNN. "Morale is really high."
See Now: OnePlus 6: How Different Will It Be From OnePlus 5?
