The British military has carried out a parachute operation on a remote Atlantic island to help a British citizen suspected of being infected with hantavirus.
British Army medics have reportedly parachuted onto the island of Tristan da Cunha, the most isolated inhabited British Territory, to provide medical care to a man who was showing symptoms of the virus after disembarking from the MV Hondius cruise ship, which has been hit by a deadly outbreak of the virus.
The man reported symptoms about two weeks after leaving the ship and is currently in a stable condition and in isolation. Six cases of hantavirus have been confirmed so far, including two other British nationals who are being treated off the ship.
The UK Ministry of Defence has announced that oxygen supplies were also dropped from an RAF A400M military aircraft on Saturday, after supplies on the island had reached critical levels.
About a month after the first death on board the MV Hondius, the ship has arrived in Tenerife, where authorities are helping over 100 people to be repatriated. So far, three deaths have been recorded from the virus outbreak, two of which have been confirmed with hantavirus.
The British national living in Tristan da Cunha disembarked on April 14 and developed symptoms on April 28. He is currently in isolation and in a stable condition.
Six soldiers and two medics from the 16th Airborne Brigade have parachuted onto the island, in an operation considered very difficult due to extreme weather conditions and a lack of infrastructure. The island has only 221 inhabitants and no airport, being accessed only by boat.
According to the Ministry of Defence, this is the first time that the British military has carried out a humanitarian parachute operation for medical personnel. Large quantities of medical supplies have also been sent to the island to support the local hospital and help the residents. British authorities have stressed that the risk to the general public remains very low.
