Fire destroys Brazil’s Antarctic research station
Brazlian physicist Heitor Evangelista is in Rio de Janeiro showing ice brought back from Antarctica in September 2009.
Two soldiers are missing following a fire at Brazil's Antarctic research station Saturday, BBC reported.
The Brazilian army traced the fire to a machine room at the Comandante Ferraz base on King George Island, which sits near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, BBC said.
The fire destroyed the entire station and was still burning Saturday afternoon, Brazilian military officials told BBC.
Forty-four people had to be evacuated from the base by helicopter, the Associated Press said.
The station is a hub of coastal and marine ecosystem research and includes research labs, dorms, a kitchen library and other facilities to the dozens of people who may be there at any given time.
There were about 60 people there Saturday when the fire broke out, BBC said.
The missing soldiers were trying to fight the fire, BBC quoted officials as saying.
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