British military medics carried out a rare parachute mission to the remote South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha to assist a UK national suspected of contracting hantavirus after leaving the virus-hit cruise ship MV Hondius.
The man, a resident of Britain’s most remote inhabited overseas territory, disembarked from the Dutch cruise vessel in mid-April. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), he left the ship on April 14 and later developed diarrhoea on April 28, followed by fever two days later. He is currently isolating on the island and is said to be in stable condition.
The operation also saw an RAF A400M aircraft drop oxygen supplies onto the island on Saturday after stocks there reportedly reached “critical levels”, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in an official statement.
Calling it an unprecedented humanitarian deployment, the MoD said this marked the first time UK military medical personnel had been inserted via parachute jump to provide emergency medical support.
The mission involved six paratroopers and two medical specialists from 16 Air Assault Brigade, who flew from RAF Brize Norton before parachuting onto Tristan da Cunha, one of the most isolated inhabited island chains in the world. Two paratroopers completed tandem jumps alongside an intensive care nurse and an intensive care doctor, who are expected to reinforce the island’s usually two-member medical team.
According to the island’s local government website, the team landed on the golf course, with residents praised for having “pulled out all the stops at short notice” to receive the visitors. Authorities also confirmed that 3.3 tonnes of medical supplies were delivered for the island hospital.
UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper described the mission as an “extraordinary operation” reflecting Britain’s commitment to its overseas territories and citizens abroad.
“This extraordinary operation reflects our unwavering commitment to the people of our Overseas Territories and British nationals, wherever they are,” she said.
Armed Forces Minister Al Carns said personnel had operated under “incredibly challenging circumstances”, praising troops for carrying out the mission with “professionalism and composure under pressure”.
The emergency response came amid an ongoing hantavirus outbreak linked to the MV Hondius. Nearly a month after the first death onboard, the ship has now reached Tenerife, where authorities are helping over 100 passengers disembark for repatriation.
So far, three people have died in the outbreak, including two confirmed hantavirus cases. Six infections have been officially confirmed, while two additional suspected cases remain under investigation, including the British man on Tristan da Cunha.
Hantavirus is a family of rodent-borne viruses. Most strains do not spread between humans, but the Andes strain identified among several passengers from the cruise ship is known to transmit person-to-person.
The two Britons with confirmed infections are currently receiving treatment in the Netherlands and South Africa. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said no other British passengers still aboard the Hondius had shown symptoms, though they continue to be monitored.
Separately, two British nationals who left the ship at St Helena on April 24 before the first confirmed hantavirus diagnosis are voluntarily self-isolating at home in the UK.
The remaining 22 British passengers are expected to return from Tenerife on a charter flight. Upon arrival, they will be transferred to Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral, Merseyside, where they will isolate for 45 days under UKHSA supervision and undergo testing if required.
The MoD said the overall risk to the wider public remains “very low”.
Tristan da Cunha, home to just 221 residents, lies roughly midway between South Africa and South America. With no airport and access only by sea, the island is considered the world’s most remote inhabited settlement.
It’s nearest inhabited neighbour, St Helena, is over 2,400 km away and reachable only after a six-day boat journey. Frequent winds exceeding 25 mph also made conditions difficult for the parachute operation, the MoD said.
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