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Tag: australian

  • Icebound Russian Ship Set to be Rescued by Saturday

    A Russian ship carrying 74 passengers has been stranded in the icy water mass of Antarctica since Tuesday.

    Strong winds through the ice-covered water caused The MV Akademik Shokalskiy to become trapped near Stillwell Island, far south of Hobart, Tasmania.

    What started on November 28 as a commemorated voyage dedicated to the 100th anniversary of an Antarctic voyage led by Australian explorer Douglas Mawson has become a five-day wait for the travelers.

    The Akademik Shokalskiy initially departed from New Zealand with both Russian and Australian passengers aboard. Many passengers are tourists helping scientists with an experiment.

    The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement today that a Chinese icebreaker is expected to reach the explorers by tomorrow.

    The Snow Dragon icebreaker was sent out by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority and is said to be traveling at a very cautious speed, 15 nautical miles from the ship.

    On Twitter, Australian professor Chris Turney, announced the rescue.

    “Great news: Icebreaker Snow Dragon on Horizon with penguins! Everyone very happy!” he said.

    Turney, who also helped to arrange the voyage, posted a YouTube video excitedly sharing its slow arrival upon the horizon.

    According to the captain who has stayed in contact with the Russian Embassy, the crew members are safe and unharmed.

    Despite the interruption to the expedition, the scientists will continue with their research even after they’re freed.

    Image via Youtube, Mass Tea Party

  • Greg Ham Found Dead: Men At Work Member Dies Mysteriously In Home

    58-year old Greg Ham, best known for playing various instruments for the Aussie band Men At Work, was found dead in his home on Thursday after friends went to check on him, saying he hadn’t been heard from in a while.

    Police are keeping information surrounding his death to themselves, only verifying that he is, in fact, deceased.

    “Because of the early stages of our investigation, we’re not prepared to go into the exact details of what has occurred,” Detective Senior Sergeant Shane O’Connell said. He later added, “There are a number of unexplained aspects to it which has caused our attendance here today.”

    Ham played flute, keyboards, saxaphone, and harmonica for the band; his flute solo is a huge part of their biggest hit, “Down Under”.

    Frontman Colin Hay, who was friends with Ham since their high school days, talked about his love and admiration for his bandmate and how talented he was.

    “We played in a band and conquered the world together,” Hay said. “I love him very much. He’s a beautiful man. The saxophone solo on ‘Who Can It Be Now’ was the rehearsal take. We kept it, that was the one. He’s here forever.”

  • Australian Baby Racks Up $1 Million Hospital Bill

    John Kan and Rachel Evans from Sydney, Australia, thought they had prepared themselves well for a holiday to Vancouver; they bought extra travel insurance and covered Rachel’s pregnancy even though she was several weeks from being full-term. What they didn’t know, however, was that their insurance policy didn’t cover the baby or the birth. When Rachel went into premature labor in the airport, she was rushed to the hospital in Vancouver, where her daughter Piper was born 13 weeks early.

    Because of the myriad complications that can arise in a baby so small, the family had a lengthy stay at the hospital and racked up a bill which totaled over a million dollars.

    They have worked out a payment plan with the hospital, but at $300 a month, it will take them roughly 278 years to pay off. Australia’s Foreign Ministry has launched an investigation to see if there is anything they can do towards the astronomical bill, but the proud parents say they are just happy to have a healthy baby girl.

    “We don’t feel our mistake was someone else’s responsibility, but obviously it is quite a large amount so any assistance we can get would be helpful,” Evans said.

    While the outrageous hospital bill is quite a story–Evans says the only winner is their private insurance company, who got out of paying such an exorbitant amount–perhaps the real story is Piper’s, who survived mainly because her mother went into labor in the airport after their flight was delayed. Had Evans and Kan been in the air with an on-time flight, Piper wouldn’t have made it.

    Video of the CBC news report can be seen here.