Three individuals were evacuated from McMurdo Station, a US research base in Antarctica, following a perilous 20-hour rescue mission by the Royal New Zealand Air Force. The mission, lauded as 'heroic', was necessitated by a lack of adequate medical resources at the base. A C-130J Hercules, utilizing night vision due to 24-hour darkness and extreme cold (-11°F), successfully landed on a manually prepared ice runway. The patients were flown to Christchurch, New Zealand, highlighting the challenging conditions and exceptional skill of the rescue crew.

Prepared by Rachel Morgan and reviewed by editorial team.