NUUK, Greenland, Sept. 2 (UPI) -- Activists who scaled a drilling platform off the coast of Greenland were arrested after severe weather forced them off the rig, police said.
Four activists with the environmental group Greenpeace had rigged mountaineering platforms to the bottom of an oil rig operated by Cairn Energy in the arctic waters off the coast of Greenland.
Greenland police arrested the activists after severe winds and 18-foot waves led authorities to launch a rescue attempt, London's Guardian newspaper reports.
Morten Nielsen, the deputy police chief in Greenland, said it took about four hours to rescue the activists. Greenland authorities also impounded a helicopter owned by Greenpeace.
Greenpeace last month launched its vessel Esperanza from British ports to the arctic waters of Greenland to protest offshore drilling. The group said the pristine arctic waters would be spoiled by an "oil rush" in the region.
Greenpeace complains British lawmakers acted too quickly after April's the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster in issuing deep-water drilling licenses.
Cairn Energy said it restarted its drilling activity as soon as the Greenpeace activists were arrested.
