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There has been an emergency medical evacuation from Antarctica to Christchurch, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, after a Christmas punch-up.
A man was said to have suffered a broken jaw in the festive altercation - an injury too serious to be treated in Antarctica, the Press newspaper reported.
A ski-equipped United States Air Force Hercules made an unscheduled flight from McMurdo Station, near New Zealand's Scott Base, to the South Pole to collect the man. The flight is estimated the flight cost about $325,000.
A spokeswoman for Christchurch Hospital said a man was admitted on Christmas Day, and was discharged yesterday.
The South Pole station is one of the most expensive places to visit on the planet, with winter medevacs from the pole costing up to $2 million.
A woman diagnosed with breast cancer was evacuated during the Antarctic winter in 1999 and has since written a book about the experience.
- NZPA
