A high-stakes rescue operation is underway in Antarctica, where two planes and a helicopter are braving the elements in an effort to save three Canadian men whose small plane went down on the icy continent Tuesday night.

New Zealand’s Rescue Coordination Centre at Scott Base on Ross Island, just off Antarctica’s coast, dispatched a DC-3 Wednesday morning to fly over the remote mountainous area where the signal from the downed Twin Otter’s emergency locator beacon is coming from. The beacon went off about 10 p.m. Tuesday.

“What they’re hoping to do is get above where the beacon is transmitting and then they’ll be able to report on weather conditions,” said Michael Flyger, spokesperson for the rescue centre.

“Hopefully if there’s a break in the cloud cover, they’ll potentially be able to drop some supplies down the site and establish radio contact with them.”

Searchers confirmed the emergency beacon signal is coming from the northern end of the Queen Alexandra mountain range, which lies along the route that the ski-equipped Twin Otter, owned by Calgary-based Kenn Borek Air, was taking from near the South Pole to the Italian base at Terra Nova Bay on the coast.

Heavy clouds hampered an earlier search plane dispatched from McMurdo Station, a U.S. research centre on Ross Island.

But rescuers say conditions may be improving, and a second Twin Otter and a helicopter are ready to set off from McMurdo.

“That all depends on the cloud cover not being as heavy as it is. And hopefully the wind will drop a bit as well,” Flyger said.

Peter West, a spokesman for the U.S. National Science Foundation, which operates McMurdo Station, said the trio aboard the missing aircraft are thought to be a Kenn Borek pilot, co-pilot and flight engineer.

“My understanding is that it was just the flight crew and no passengers,” said West from Arlington, Va., who has been in touch with crews in Antarctica.

“The flight was under the auspices of the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development,” he said.

The plane was carrying survival equipment including tents and food for five days, according to John Ashby, a New Zealand search and rescue coordinator.

Some Canadians discussing the incident on Twitter identified Kenn Borek pilot Bob Heath as one of those missing. Calls to his home were referred to the airline. Kenn Borek Air, which is experienced in Antarctic and Arctic aviation, was not taking calls Wednesday night.

“Fingers crossed bigtime for friend Bob Heath — pilot of missing Kenn Borek Twin Otter down in Antarctic … 25+ years experience extreme flying,” tweeted one person. “Bob is an amazing pilot and a wonderful man. If anyone can get through this it’s him,” tweeted another.

There are no permanent residents in Antarctica but typically the population there swells to several thousand in the Southern Hemisphere summer as countries send scientists and other staff to research stations. The U.S. runs the largest program, with about 850 staff at its McMurdo Station and another 200 at its Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station

Montreal cardiologist Dr. Michel White is a member of a four-person Canadian team that returned from a trek to the South Pole earlier on Tuesday morning.

White described temperatures as low as –55 C and “bad days” that saw winds of 50 knots (or 92 km/h). With the winds come whiteouts, in which all visibility is lost.

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“You lose the difference between the sky and the land,” White said. “If you have to land an aircraft in these conditions, it’s very difficult to appreciate.”