MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Weather blocks South Pole rescue.

Snow and winds gusting to more than 45 mph grounded two planes Monday, delaying the rescue of a seriously ill man working at the United States' South Pole research station.

The Twin Otters, built to fly in rough weather, were flown over the weekend from the southern tip of Chile to the Rothera Air Station on Antarctica, where they were forced to wait because of bad weather, said Valerie Carroll, spokeswoman for Raytheon Polar Services of Centennial, Colorado.

"This time of year in Antarctica is spring time so the weather is quite challenging," Carroll said.

The pilots expected the storm to ease and were hoping to fly to the South Pole on Tuesday, Steve Penikett, of the Kenn Borek Air charter company of Calgary, Alberta, told Canadian Press. One plane was to make the 1,346-mile trip to the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, while the other was to remain at Rothera as a backup. At Amundsen-Scott on Monday, 10-mph winds accompanied temperatures of 93 below zero. The sun, which set in March, will not rise again until the middle of next week.

The ill employee works for Raytheon Polar Services, the logistics contractor for the National Science Foundation that manages the U.S. Antarctic research program. There are 57 staffers at the Amundsen-Scott station. The worker's name was withheld. An update posted by the station's Web site said the man is able to work but has been ill for two weeks with bladder problems that could require surgery. The decision to airlift the man was made Friday, the site said.

The foundation's official policy is to attempt rescues only when illnesses are life-threatening, Raytheon medical director Dr. Ron Shemenski said over the weekend.

Shemenski himself was airlifted from the South Pole in April 2001 for gall bladder surgery after he diagnosed his own illness. In October 1999, Dr. Jerri Nielsen was flown out of Amundsen-Scott after detecting her own breast cancer.