MOSCOW, April 04, /ITAR-TASS/. Barneo Ice Camp, the Russian Geographic Society (RGS) Expeditionary Centre, has started its work in the Arctic to become a scientific centre for the Arctic exploration.

The camp, which is situated on a drifting ice floe will host tourists and athletes eager to reach the North Pole, the Geographical Society said on Friday.

At the end of March, an ice floe large enough to put up a camp was found at a distance of about 100 kilometers from the North Pole. Then the expedition equipment, fuel and vehicles were airdropped by an Ilyushin-76 (Il-76) followed by the RGS expedition team. They cleared an ice landing strip with the help of two air-dropped tractors.

On April 3 an Antonov-24 turbofan plane delivered other expedition members, equipment and accommodation units.

Starting from the year 2001, the ice camp opens its ‘doors’ in early April when the polar day starts gathering pace. Every year the Barneo is set up on drifting ice floes in the Arctic, in the area at the latitude of about 89 degrees north off the Equator that is near the North Pole.