A Russian-Ukrainian crew has disappeared in the Antarctic while on an expedition around the South and North poles.
A spokeswoman for the eight-person crew on board the "Scorpius" yacht said the team made its last radio contact late on April 2 as it prepared for another leg of its journey in the South Shetlands.
Anna Subbotina said the captain told her that "Scorpius" had sailed 50 kilometers into the open sea from the Ukrainian-run Akademik Vernadsky research base on Antarctica because so much ice had covered the surrounding bays.
It was heading for the Russian-run Bellingshausen station.
The yacht left the Russian Black Sea port of Sochi and Sevastopol in Crimea in September 2011 and was scheduled to return there in early 2014.
A spokeswoman for the eight-person crew on board the "Scorpius" yacht said the team made its last radio contact late on April 2 as it prepared for another leg of its journey in the South Shetlands.
Anna Subbotina said the captain told her that "Scorpius" had sailed 50 kilometers into the open sea from the Ukrainian-run Akademik Vernadsky research base on Antarctica because so much ice had covered the surrounding bays.
It was heading for the Russian-run Bellingshausen station.
The yacht left the Russian Black Sea port of Sochi and Sevastopol in Crimea in September 2011 and was scheduled to return there in early 2014.