On May 21, 1925, two airplanes, each carrying three men, left Spitzbergen bound for the North Pole. One was commanded by Cap­tain Amundsen, the other by his associate, Lincoln Ellsworth. For eight hours the two planes flew steadily toward the Pole, keeping close together, traveling rapidly, and passing over vast expanses of ice and snow for a distance of more than 600 miles. At last it became necessary to make observations before continuing the flight. Perceiving an open stretch of water, Captain Amundsen gave the order to descend , and the two planes dropped downward. Its motor stopped unexpectedly and the Amundsen plane did not reach the water but crashed into solid ice and was almost wrecked. The Ellsworth plane, which came down three miles away, was damaged beyond repair by a similar accident. The two parties did not meet until the next day, when the drifting ice brought them within a mile of each other. In fighting their way across the ice hummocks to join Captain Amundsen, two members of the Ellsworth crew fell into the sea and narrowly escaped drowning. The temperature was then 12 degrees below zero.

How many people were there in the entire party?