The ice surrounding a trapped research ship in Antarctica appeared to be cracking as a rescue vessel arrived Sunday, the crew reported.
"Cracks are developing around the bow," expedition leader and University of New South Wales Professor Christopher Turney tweeted as the 74 scientists, tourists and crew members on board waited for the ice-breaker Aurora Australis to arrive.
The Aurora reached the general vicinity of the MV Akademic Shokalskiy early Monday (Sunday afternoon, Eastern time). The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said it was assessing the situation.
The ship got stuck in multi-layered slabs of ice more than 10-feet deep on Christmas Eve, and early attempts to break it free were stymied.
One of three rescue vessels involved in the mission, China's Snow Dragon, sent a helicopter Sunday over the Shokalskiy, a Russian-flagged ship, to assess the ice condition.
"From the air, only a very tiny glint of the deep blue sea water is visible," Xinhua News Agency journalist Zhang Jiangzhong reported. "The whole area around was covered with ice.
"The Russian ship is somewhat tilting on one side. Many people were standing on the area on the right of the ship, waving," the report continued. "After checking all sides of the ship, the helicopter returned. The captain considered that the ship and passengers are safe but the ice situation still extremely serious and still beyong the Snow Dragon's ice-breaking ability."
Eight hours later, fresh glimmers of hope appeared in the form of cracks in some of the ice, leading Turney and another crew members to make a light-hearted video they posted on Twitter:
The Shokalskiy was trapped during the Australian Antarctic Expedition, a mission led by Turney to retrace the footsteps of Australian geologist Douglas Mawson, who explored the Antarctic 100 years ago.
It left the port of Bluff, New Zealand on Dec. 8 and was stopped 100 nautical miles east of the French Antarctic base Dumont D’Urville.
Spirits on the ship appeared high, with several members of the team posting video diaries on YouTube.
"We're all having a good time here. The morale on the boat's excellent," Nicole de Losa said in one, adding that there would be dancing and singing on the ice later.
NBC News' Eric Baculinao contributed to this report.
