A rescue mission is under way for scientists, tourists and journalists on a ship trapped in ice off Antarctica.

A helicopter sent from the Chinese icebreaker Xue Long landed next to the trapped Akademik Shokalskiy on Thursday afternoon and the first group of passengers was due to be evacuated shortly after 8pm local time (7am GMT). The passengers were due to be taken off in five groups, with two further flights to pick up their baggage.

By 8.30am GMT, the second group of passengers had been successfully airlifted and the helicopter had returned to pick up the third.

In a change of plan, the passengers would be taken not the Xue Long, but to an ice floe near the icebreaker Aurora Australis, which tried but failed to break through to the trapped ship earlier this week.

The expedition leader, Chris Turney, tweeted on Thursday afternoon passengers were “100% off” on the helicopter, after the day’s rescue mission had earlier been called off.

The Chinese helicopter has arrived @ the Shokalskiy. It's 100% we're off! A huge thanks to all. http://t.co/UcmHMaO2Gd #spiritofmawson — Chris Turney (@ProfChrisTurney) January 2, 2014

Pictures from the Guardian's Laurence Topham, who is on the Akademik Shokalskiy, showed the helicopter from the Chinese ship Xue Long touching down on a makeshift helipad marked out near the ship.

Turney later sent another tweet thanking everyone for their assistance.

The first of the helicopters to take us home. Thanks everyone! #spiritofmawson Alok Jha https://t.co/WawL6pQz9J — Chris Turney (@ProfChrisTurney) January 2, 2014

A two-stage rescue had been planned for Thursday with a helicopter taking 52 of the passengers on Akademik Shokalskiy to the Xue Long before transferring them to another ship, Aurora Australis, on a barge in a 36-hour window of decent weather.

But sea ice prevented the barge from the Aurora Australis, where the passengers would ultimately be transferred, being able to get close to Xue Long.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority released a statement at 12.45 pm on Thursday saying the safest option was to do the rescue mission in one operation.

“AMSA understands that current sea ice conditions prevent the barge from Aurora Australis from reaching the Chinese vessel Xue Long (Snow Dragon) and a rescue may not be possible today,” a spokeswoman said.

“The Xue Long’s helicopter is unable to land on the Aurora Australis due to load rating restrictions. It is not safe to land the helicopter next to Aurora Australis at this time.

“The preferred and safest option at this stage is to ultimately transfer the passengers onto Aurora Australis.”

Guardian journalist Alok Jha, who is on the Akademik Shokalskiy, earlier said the mood was subdued but optimistic and people had kept themselves busy.

“If there is any anger/upset etc I haven't seen any,” he said in an email.

“I imagine some people have had private moments of anxiety or frustration but there's no feeling of threat or any worry about danger. No one seems scared.”

The Akademik Shokalskiy became stuck in thick pack ice on Christmas Eve and the Aurora Australis and Xue Long, which are both ice breakers, had to abandon attempts to reach the trapped ship.

An attempt on New Year’s Day to evacuate the passengers by helicopter was also abandoned because of heavy rain, strong winds and cloud.