Paratroopers landed on a “golf course covered in rocks” to supply medical personnel and oxygen to Britain’s most remote overseas territory as it deals with a suspected hantavirus case, an army commander has said.
The UK Health Security Agency confirmed on Friday that a British national had disembarked from the cruise ship MV Hondius to the South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha, where they live, with a suspected case of hantavirus.
Six paratroopers, a Royal Air Force (RAF) consultant and an army nurse from 16 Air Assault Brigade were parachuted to the island, which is normally only accessible by boat, while oxygen supplies and medical aid were also dropped.
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.
Tristan da Cunha, in a group of volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, is Britain’s most remote inhabited overseas territory – accessible only by boat, it has no airstrip and a population of 221.
Brig Ed Cartwright, the commander of 16 Air Assault Brigade, said there was “7,000 miles and about 56 hours” between help being requested and “having those parachutists and those medical stores on the ground”.
Describing the mission, he told Sky News: “No airstrip, high winds, very difficult to reach, and over a week for a boat, and the patient, as I understand, was on oxygen, and that oxygen supply was running out – so we had very few options.
“I think the soldiers will have had a great time, but it’s pretty risky. Parachuting has some inherent dangers. The winds were reasonably high.
“The parachuters – I’ve spoken to them – they described it to me as a ‘pretty tasty jump’.
“They would have got out of the aircraft, had to turn straight into wind to avoid being pushed past the island and into the Atlantic, and then had a very difficult descent down through the cloud and then on to the drop zone, which was a golf course covered in rocks.”
The Army commander said there was a plan to get them back.
He added: “There are some ships being moved and some further medical support being prepared, so we’ll be able to extract them safely in due course.”
The Ministry of Defence said it was the first time medical personnel had been parachuted in to provide humanitarian support.
Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, said the safety of “all members of the British family” was the top priority.
“We will continue to work closely with international authorities and the Tristan da Cunha administration, keeping those affected informed and ensuring the right support is in place in the UK and across the overseas territories,” she said.
