The World Health Organization said Friday that eight people aboard the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius cruise ship had fallen ill, including three who died. Six cases have been confirmed, with two others suspected.
British special forces carried out a high-risk parachute mission into one of the most isolated places on Earth to deliver life-saving medical aid after a suspected hantavirus case emerged.
A team of six paratroopers and two military medics jumped from an RAF A400M aircraft onto Tristan da Cunha, a tiny volcanic island in the South Atlantic with no airport and only reachable by boat, in what officials described as an unprecedented operation, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said Sunday. The mission was launched after UK health authorities confirmed a British national on the island was suspected of contracting hantavirus, a potentially deadly disease.
With oxygen supplies running dangerously low and no way to land aircraft, officials determined a parachute insertion was the only option. The British military also dropped oxygen tanks and critical medical equipment from the sky, ensuring the island’s lone patient and its healthcare system didn’t run out of lifesaving resources.
“This was an extraordinary operation in incredibly challenging circumstances,” said U.K. Armed Forces Minister Al Carns, praising the team for delivering aid under pressure. The mission comes as the U.K. government continues to work with international authorities in response to the hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship. British nationals on board the ship will be repatriated to the U.K. on a special charter flight and will enter isolation for 45 days as their health is closely monitored.
Nobody among the more than 140 people aboard the ship are showing symptoms of the virus, the World Health Organization said.
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