UK Paratroopers and Medics Airdropped to Remote Tristan da Cunha After Suspected Hantavirus Case

British paratroopers parachuted onto Tristan da Cunha along with medics and medical supplies after a suspected hantavirus case on the remote island. Six paratroopers, a Royal Air Force consultant and an army nurse from 16 Air Assault Brigade jumped from an RAF A400M aircraft dispatched about 5km over the South Atlantic Ocean.

Two of the paratroopers jumped in tandem with an intensive care nurse and intensive care doctor.

The team landed on what Brig Ed Cartwright described as a golf course covered in rocks. Average wind speeds over Tristan da Cunha are often over 25mph, and the parachutists faced a really challenging, technical jump due to high winds and the island being small.

They had to turn straight into wind to avoid being pushed past the island and into the Atlantic before descending through cloud to the drop zone.

Brig Ed Cartwright said there was 7,000 miles and about 56 hours between help being requested and having parachutists and medical stores on the ground. Oxygen was dropped from an RAF A400M on Saturday because supplies were at a critical level on the island. 3 tonnes of medical supplies were delivered for the hospital on Tristan da Cunha.

An RAF A400M transport aircraft flew from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire to Ascension Island, supported by an RAF Voyager, before heading to Tristan da Cunha. The UK Health Security Agency confirmed on Friday that a British national had disembarked from the cruise ship MV Hondius to Tristan da Cunha with a suspected case of hantavirus.

He reported having diarrhoea on 28 April and fever two days later. The British national on Tristan da Cunha is in stable condition and isolating. The World Health Organization has confirmed six confirmed cases and two suspected cases of hantavirus, including the British man on Tristan da Cunha.

Three people have died in the MV Hondius outbreak, including two who were confirmed to have had hantavirus. Six cases of hantavirus have been confirmed, including two other Britons currently being treated off the ship. The two British nationals with confirmed hantavirus are being treated in the Netherlands and South Africa.

The Andes strain of hantavirus, which does pass from person to person, was identified in people on the MV Hondius. No other British nationals who remained on board the Hondius had reported symptoms but are being monitored. Two Britons are voluntarily self-isolating at home in the UK after disembarking the MV Hondius at St Helena on 24 April.

The remaining 22 British passengers are due to fly home from Tenerife on a charter flight. The MV Hondius arrived in Tenerife almost a month after the first death onboard. The 22 British passengers will be taken to Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral, Merseyside, to isolate for up to 72 hours and will then be asked to self-isolate for a further 42 days.

Tristan da Cunha has a population of 221. The island is accessible only by boat and has no airstrip. It is the first time the UK military has parachuted in medical personnel to provide humanitarian support.

The parachutists would be taken off the island by ship. Yvette Cooper said the safety of all members of the British family was the top priority.

Yvette Cooper said this extraordinary operation reflects the UK's unwavering commitment to the people of its overseas territories and to British nationals wherever they are. Minister for the Armed Forces Al Carns said there had been incredibly challenging circumstances. Al Carns paid tribute to personnel for carrying out their task with utmost professionalism and composure under pressure.

The risk to the general public remains very low.