Rescue under way for passengers aboard ship trapped in Antarctic ice

(CNN) -- A Chinese helicopter briefly landed Thursday near a ship stuck in ice off Antarctica for more than a week, but no rescue operation for the 52 passengers has begun, a Chinese official said.

The helicopter was scanning the area around the trapped vessel, the MV Akademik Shokalskiy, and is not planning to carry out a rescue mission at the moment, said Li Mingjian, the network engineer of a Chinese icebreaker that is involved in the rescue efforts.

The helicopter landed on the makeshift helipad on the ice by the Akademik Shokalskiy and a few crew members from the Chinese vessel, the Xue Long, got off to inspect the area, Li said. The helicopter then left and returned to the Chinese ship, he added.

High spirits stuck in Antarctic ice Photographic negatives left a century ago at an expedition base at Cape Evans, Antarctica, were discovered and conserved by New Zealand's Antarctic Heritage Trust on December 10.Antarctic expedition photos found

The development is the latest chapter in a saga that began Christmas Eve after the Russian-flagged Akademik Shokalskiy got stuck in 10 feet of ice.

Australian authorities, who are coordinating the rescue efforts, had said earlier in the day that a plan to get the passengers off the ship Thursday had been put on hold.

The plan called for a helicopter to ferry the passengers from the Akademik Shokalskiy to the Chinese vessel, where they would then board a barge to take them to an Australian icebreaker, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said.

But the shifting ice conditions prevented the barge from reaching the Chinese vessel, it said.

CNN's Chelsea J. Carter and Talia Kayali contributed to this report.