The 107 people on board a German research ship trapped by ice off Antarctica have started rationing food, their rescue mission said on Thursday.

The Magdalena Oldendorff has been stranded in a bay on the Princess Astrid Coast in the Antarctic since 11 June and winter is setting in.

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Two rescue ships are unlikely to reach it until next month, rescue mission spokeswoman Tanya Hacker told BBC News Online from Cape Town, South Africa.

An ice breaker is leaving Argentina on Sunday

"The conditions are severe, and not pleasant, to say the least," Ms Hacker said. Temperatures were down to about -20C and winds were up to 75 knots.

Ms Hacker said the 79 Russian scientists and 28 crew members have voluntarily decided to ration their food as a "precautionary measure".

The Magdalena had been heading back to Cape Town before a massive ice drift blocked its way and forced it to retreat and call for help.

Weather deteriorating

A South African rescue ship, the Agulhas, is about halfway to the edge of the ice.

But the rescue ship will have to wait at the edge of the ice for an Argentinean icebreaker, the Almirante Irizar, to arrive and clear a path.

The Argentinean ship is set to leave on 23 June and will take at least eight days to meet the Agulhas. It could then take another week to reach the Magdalena.

The weather is deteriorating as the Antarctic winter sets in - and there is "very little daylight," Ms Hacker said.

Daily contact

But the Magdalena's crew are seasoned Antarctic sailors, she said, and their supplies should last until help arrives.

"They are used to these conditions... I think that they are calm and they know what is going on. We are in contact with them daily," said Ms Hacker.

She acknowledged that it was "unusual" for a ship like the Magdalena to be in Antarctic waters as winter arrives.

"This is not a common occurrence," she said.

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