Society

Chinese worker injured in Antarctica flown to Australia

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-01-15 20:08

CANBERRA: A Chinese worker injured in Antarctica has been flown to an Australian hospital in a 10-hour rescue mission, the Australian Associated Press reported Friday.

The 47-year-old man who was crushed by machinery at China's Zhongshan station on Tuesday, was brought in a plane from the frozen continent and listed in a serious but stable condition at the Royal Hobart Hospital on Friday evening.

It is believed he suffered abdominal injuries and underwent surgery at the station.

The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) sent a doctor from its nearby Davis station to help with the operation, an AAD spokeswoman for the base said.

He was taken to the Royal Hobart Hospital where he is recovering from his injuries. It was lucky the man was able to board the last flight to Tasmania, the spokeswoman said, because it was a regularly scheduled weekly Airbus service.

Medical evacuations from Antarctica are rare but nations with bases on the continent frequently share resources and offer assistance in such incidents, ?she said.