ALMIRANTE MAXIMIANO

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Research vessel en route to destroyed research base

After an explosion destroyed a Brazilian research base in Antarctica on Feb 25, 2012, killing two navy personnel and injuring a third, two Argentine Navy vessels and two others from the Polish Antarctic station were in the area, providing support along with three Chilean helicopters. Also the "Almirante Maximiano" was en route to the area after sailing from Punta Arenas. The two dead were in the area of major risk in a bid to extinguish a fire and they did not succeed. A joint Chilean-Brazilian team found the bodies of the two men. A Navy sergeant was also lightly injured in the blast, which occurred after a fire in a room housing energy generators of the Comandante Ferraz research base located in Admiralty Bay, King George Island, near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. He was first treated at a nearby Arctowski Polish Antarctic station and later transferred to the Chilean Eduardo Frei military base. The Brazilian base was completely destroyed by the explosion. The blast also forced dozens of researchers to evacuate. About 30 researchers, one alpinist and a Brazilian environment ministry representative who were at the base during the explosion were evacuated by helicopter to the Eduardo Frei base. The Argentine Air Force agreed to fly them to the southern Chilean city of Punta Arenas. 42 Brazilians and two Spaniards were evacuated to Punta Arenas. Other people affected by the fire had been taken to the Eduardo Frei base, which was providing medical support. The Brazilian Air Force also sent a C-130 Hercules aircraft to Punta Arenas to repatriate the Brazilian evacuees. The Comandante Ferraz base, which was established in 1984, conducts biological science research focused on coastal and shelf marine ecosystems.