Rescue airlift for British pair trapped on Alaska ice

Two British adventurers have been rescued after becoming stranded on ice off the coast of Alaska during a kayaking trip across the Bering Strait.

Neil Laughton and James Bingham had to be airlifted to safety by US Coastguard helicopters as they headed for the island of Little Diomede, midway between the western-most tip of Alaska and the eastern corner of mainland Russia.

They had hoped to make the 26.6-mile (43km) journey by cross-country skiing and kayaking but got stuck when the ice became too thin to walk on and too thick to paddle through.

The pair were forced to wear survival suits and activate a locator beacon as they awaited rescue.

A Hercules C-130 plane and two helicopters were used in the rescue and the men were flown more than 100 miles (160km) to Nome, the US Coastguard said.

A coastguard video shows the men being winched to safety on Friday.

Captain Mark Morin, commanding officer of Alaska's Air Station Kodiak, said:

On Friday, Mr Laughton, who is ex-Special Forces, tweeted:

A description of the expedition on his website said the pair had hoped to "arrange the first game of 5-a-side football on the moving sea ice".