UK Military Parachutes Medical Team and Supplies to Remote Tristan da Cunha After One Suspected Hantavirus Case

British Army medics and paratroopers from the 16 Air Assault Brigade parachuted onto Tristan da Cunha on Saturday to provide emergency medical support after a British national living on the island was suspected of contracting hantavirus. The team of six paratroopers and two medical clinicians leapt from an RAF A400M Atlas aircraft at 8,000 feet, landing on the island's golf course after a technically demanding descent through high winds.

They carried an intensive-care doctor and an intensive-care nurse as tandem passengers.

3 tonnes of medical equipment and oxygen supplies that had reached critical levels on the island, which has no airstrip and can normally be reached only by boat. Army Brigadier Ed Cartwright, who commands the 16 Air Assault Brigade, said the operation was launched after the UK Health Security Agency confirmed the suspected case on Friday.

"There's no airstrip and it's about 7,000 nautical miles away from the UK and about 3,000 nautical miles from the nearest land," he said.

Soldiers were dispatched to RAF Brize Norton on Thursday morning to link up with RAF colleagues for the flight via Ascension Island. The parachutists jumped above the clouds, deployed canopies at around 7,000 feet, then turned against strong headwinds inside cloud before emerging at 3,000 feet with only a partial view of the island.

"They had some very skilful parachuting in order to make sure they landed in the right place," Brigadier Cartwright said.

"The consequences of getting it wrong are very serious in parachuting.

“The consequence of getting that wrong is that you end up in the Atlantic.”

“— Brigadier Ed Cartwright, commander of 16 Air Assault Brigade The British national, who lives more than 6,000 miles from the U.K. on the volcanic archipelago that forms part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, disembarked from the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius on 14 April. He reported diarrhoea on 28 April and fever on 30 April, according to the World Health Organization. He remains in stable condition and in isolation. The operation is the first time the U.K. military has parachuted medical personnel to deliver humanitarian support, the Ministry of Defence said. The team included a consultant surgeon, a consultant anaesthetist and an ICU nurse. Brigadier Cartwright said the patient "now has an additional consultant anaesthetist and ICU nurse there to support him" along with substantial medical stores. "So, in a better place than yesterday, I think, is a fair summary." Tristan da Cunha has a population of 221 British citizens. Average wind speeds over the island often exceed 25 mph, contributing to what Minister for the Armed Forces Al Carns described to the BBC as "incredibly challenging circumstances" for the jump. The paratroopers will be extracted by ship once the medical situation allows. Six cases of hantavirus have been confirmed from the MV Hondius outbreak, including two other Britons now receiving treatment in the Netherlands and South Africa. Three people have died, two of them confirmed hantavirus cases. The World Health Organization has recorded six confirmed cases and two suspected cases overall. Most hantaviruses are not transmitted between people, but the Andes strain identified aboard the vessel does pass between humans. The MV Hondius arrived in Tenerife almost a month after the first death on board. More than 100 passengers and crew are being disembarked for monitoring and repatriation. The remaining 22 British passengers are scheduled to fly home on a charter flight and will isolate for up to 45 days. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the operation "reflects our unwavering commitment to the people of our overseas territories and to British nationals, wherever they are." The risk to the general public remains very low, according to the Ministry of Defence. The parachutists faced a really challenging technical jump due to high winds and the small size of the island, Brigadier Cartwright added. The team landed on the island's golf course after being dispatched from the aircraft about 5 km over the South Atlantic, turning in the wind before reaching the edge of the island.”