Update | Chinese research ship 'Snow Dragon' breaks free from ice zone

China's Antarctic research ship the Xue Long broke free from the ice and entered a safe zone yesterday after a 14-hour struggle.

The escape at around 6pm Beijing time was made possible by a westerly wind that loosened the dense ice.

It brought a happy ending to a dramatic rescue mission in which its crew had earlier saved 52 scientists, journalists and tourists who were trapped on the Russian icebreaker Akademik Shokalskiy.

Hours later the captain of the Russian vessel, Igor Kiselyov, said his ship had also managed to navigate slowly through the ice, Agence France-Presse reported.

"Finally the wind changed to the west and as a result a crack appeared in the ice. We went into it and we are now slowly moving north," he said, acknowledging that sailing conditions were hard, with thick fog and visibility of "no more than 500 metres".

Xinhua reported that the captain of the Xue Long, or Snow Dragon, Wang Jianzhong, ran between starboard and port, observing the ice from behind sunglasses. He was physically exhausted but in high spirits, the agency said.