La Tercera article, January 20, 1989
Copilot Translation:
“Hercules” of the Chilean Air Force transported one hundred crew members from the stranded Argentine shipSpectacular Antarctic Rescue
BASE TENIENTE MARSH (Jaime Pincheira, special correspondent).—
In a spectacular operation, the rescue of the passengers from the Argentine ship Bahía Paraíso began after it ran aground in Antarctica, 378 kilometers south of the Chilean air base Teniente Marsh.
A Hercules aircraft of the Chilean Air Force took off Saturday at 23:30 from Santiago on a direct flight to the Teniente Marsh base to join the rescue efforts. The FACH aircraft, identified with the call sign “La Tercera,” arrived at its destination at 09:20 yesterday. At 15:30 it began the return trip, transporting about one hundred people who had been taken off the Argentine vessel.
Speaking with La Tercera, the crew members of the ship expressed their nervousness about the situation they faced, not knowing when they would be evacuated.
It was reported that the assistance was authorized by the Chilean government once the full rescue plan had been activated. The Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, Andrés Zaldívar, reported from Punta Arenas that the Chilean aircraft would make a maintenance stop.
The Argentine consul in Punta Arenas, José María Gallo, stated that diplomatic contacts had been maintained to authorize the aircraft’s entry into Argentine territory.
Meanwhile, it was indicated that there was still no official version of the accident, which would be released in the coming hours.
In Santiago, news agencies widely circulated the story. The wire reports stated:
BUENOS AIRES, Jan. 29 (EFE).—
A ship of the Argentine Navy with icebreaking capability departed from the port of Ushuaia, in southern Misiones near Antarctica, on a rescue mission for the crew of the Argentine cruise ship Bahía Paraíso, which ran aground in Antarctica.
The vessel was operating as a tourist cruise ship and at the time of the accident carried 81 passengers and 66 crew members. The ship suffered a breach that left it partially submerged.
The accident caused no casualties.
The ANSA agency released the following wire:
BUENOS AIRES, 29 (ANSA).—
The Argentine polar ship Bahía Paraíso, which was on a cruise in Antarctica, ran aground on an island in the Bismarck group, in the western sector of the White Continent.
The stranded vessel is a ship of the Argentine Navy that had been refitted to conduct tourist cruises in Antarctica. The accident caused no casualties.
The REUTER agency sent the following wire:
BUENOS AIRES (29 REUTER).—
An Argentine ship on an Antarctic cruise ran aground near the U.S. Palmer Station, where nearly one hundred passengers on board were evacuated, naval sources said today.
Units of the Argentine Navy immediately headed to the Bismarck Islands, in the western sector of the White Continent, to pick up the evacuees and transport them to the mainland, the sources added.
The ship Bahía Paraíso ran aground Saturday night and assisted in the evacuation of the passengers, according to reports.
The rescue was successfully completed, and the FACH aircraft took off from Bahía Paraíso at 15:30 and arrived in Santiago at 19:45, five minutes after landing.
Photo caption: A Hercules aircraft of the Chilean Air Force on the Antarctic ice during the rescue operation of the passengers from the Argentine ship “Bahía Paraíso.”