WORLD IN BRIEF : ANTARCTICA : Rescued Soviets Land in S. Africa

A Soviet ship’s 174 crew members arrived in South Africa after a harrowing rescue ended their anxious month of being stranded in the icy wilderness of Antarctica. Chunks of ice dropped from the Soviet transport jet as it landed in Cape Town, more than 24 hours after the craft set off for the frozen continent. “We are tired and happy. We are happy about Gorbachev!” Dr. Sergei Karpekin said as he stepped off the plane, referring to Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev’s return to power after a failed coup. Karpekin was a crew member on the research ship Mikhail Somov, which became stuck in ice last month. The crew could not go to a Soviet research base 35 miles away because it was filled to capacity.