The evacuation took place Tuesday night aboard the Russian ship Severny Polyus in 86° north water over the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, about 240 nautical miles (444 km) from the pole.
At the request of their Russian counterparts, Norwegian authorities flew a Super Puma helicopter from Longyearbyen, the main town in Svalbard, 500 nautical miles (925 km) away, to evacuate the Russian, whose health condition was deemed too critical to be treated on board the ship.
"This is at the extreme limit of what the helicopter can do" in terms of range, Rune Danielsen, a spokesman for the Norwegian rescue centre in Bodø, told AFP.
"Every detail counts to go that far: the weight, the wind...", he argued.
The operation was conducted in accordance with existing bilateral search and rescue agreements between Norway and Russia in the Arctic, despite the deterioration of relations between the two countries since the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
According to its manufacturer, Airbus Helicopters, the H215 Super Puma has a maximum range of 866 km, without additional external tank.
The Norwegian helicopter refueled in northern Svalbard, where fuel is stored in advance for these kinds of extreme Arctic missions, and then received kerosene again aboard the Severny Polyus, an 83-metre vessel stuck in ice as part of a scientific expedition.
Russian science ship Severny Polyus caught in Arctic ice, June 6, 2023 © Sysselmesteren Svalbard / AFP
Upon his uneventful arrival in Longyearbyen on the night at around 02:00 (00:00 GMT), the Russian patient was evacuated aboard a medical plane. Its current status is not known.
© 2023 AFP