Superlong rescue flight for Twin Otters - Calgary to Amundsen/Scott - Curt Lewis

Rescue Flight Lands at South Pole to Evacuate Sick Worker

The Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in 2002. The National Science Foundation, citing medical privacy, did not disclose the identity of the sick worker at the station or that person's condition. Credit David McCarthy/National Science Foundation, via Agence France-Presse - Getty Images

A rescue flight has landed at the South Pole, battling temperatures of minus 70 degrees Fahrenheit and round-the-clock darkness to evacuate a sick worker from a United States-run research station, the National Science Foundation said.

The aircraft, a propeller-driven Twin Otter, which used skis to land on the snow and ice on Tuesday, was to remain at the facility, the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, for about 10 hours while the flight crew rested, the National Science Foundation said on its Facebook page.

The plane flew about 1,500 miles to the southernmost point on earth from the Rothera Research Station, run by Britain, off the Antarctic Peninsula. A second Twin Otter remained at Rothera to help, if needed, for search and rescue. The crew was to monitor the weather before returning to Rothera with the sick worker, the foundation said.

The South Pole is in the middle of its six-month night, when a lack of sunlight drives the frigid temperatures even colder. The high over the past day at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station was minus 63 degrees Fahrenheit, with a low of minus 76. Wind, which can blow at gale force across the snow and ice, was relatively calm though, with gusts up to 14 miles per hour.

Because of the extreme conditions, aircraft generally do not fly to the South Pole from February to October.

The two rescue planes are operated by Kenn Borek Air of Canada. They left Calgary on June 14. Kenn Borek Air, which is a regular contractor for the Antarctic program, has flown two similar rescue missions in 2001 and 2003, the National Science Foundation said in a written statement.

Though images shown on a web camera are well lit, the foundation said that was the result of moonlight and the highly sensitive camera picking up the lights of the aircraft operation on the far side of the station.

There are 48 people now wintering at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, which was established in 1956. The workers there conduct research and maintain equipment used for studying subjects like the earth's atmosphere and outer space.

The foundation, citing medical privacy, did not disclose the identity of the sick worker or that person's condition. Though the station has medical personnel, the patient's condition required care that could not be provided there. A second person was also being evaluated for possible evacuation, the foundation said on Monday.