MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chilean rescue mission bogged in Antarctica

The Chilean Army reported that the remains of the three military that died when their snow cat plunged into a deep crevasse in Antarctica will not be returned to the mainland until next Tuesday because of the adverse climate conditions.

Visibility in the Chilean base O'Higgins from where the remains will be flown back to mainland Chile was according to the latest weather forecasts less than a hundred metres.

Chilean Army Commander Juan Emilio Cheyre currently waiting in Punta Arenas said early Sunday that the eight men patrol with the bodies was a mere "modest 25 kilometres" away from the base, waiting in an Argentine-Chilean refuge.

However the dreadful weather conditions impeded the patrol from advancing.

According to Army sources once the remains arrive in Punta Arenas where the next of kin are waiting to recognise them, coroners will determine the exact death causes.

The three dead together with four servicemen last Wednesday fell into a forty metres deep crack apparently covered with a thin crust of iced snow, when they were returning from exploration and maintenance jobs in Antarctic refuges.

The four servicemen were rescued the same day of the accident, Wednesday mid day because they were travelling in the open rear box. But the three trapped in the cabin could only be extracted, with special equipment, the following day.

By then it was too late.