ABOARD XUELONG, Jan. 2 -- Chinese helicopter Xueying 12 on board the icebreaker Xuelong has embarked on its second flight Thursday to transfer part of the passengers aboard a Russian vessel stuck in sea ice off Antarctica to an Australian rescue ship, said a Xinhua reporter aboard Xuelong.

The flight was taken after a first one that examined the conditions around the stranded ship to prepare for the landing of the helicopter on ice.