Chechen commandos and TV film crew stranded at North Pole after parachuting in

A Russian TV film crew and a team of Chechen special forces is currently stranded on an ice floe in the Arctic.

According to the news service Vesti, the soldiers parachuted into the North Pole from an altitude of 2.5 kilometers (1.6 miles) and then marched 8 kilometers (5 miles) in full gear in temperatures dipping down to -40º Celsius (-40º Fahrenheit). 

After training exercises, the commandos were scheduled to lecture on the basics of survival at the North Pole, but the group encountered a problem when the ice floe beneath its feet started breaking apart, damaging the team's base. After hours of trying in vain to repair the airstrip, the cracks eventually made it inoperable.

The group must now find another ice floe, where it needs to establish another base and clear a new landing strip. According to Vesti, this could take a whole week. Supplies and fuel are scarce, says one of the Russian correspondents trapped on the ground with the commandos.