Tristan da Cunha Emergency Airdrop

[Zad]

British Army medics and medical supplies have been parachuted (literally) into Tristan da Cunha, after a suspected case of hantavirus in someone who had recently been a passenger on the MV Hondius. No air strip and days away from the nearest support ship. There are some cool videos and photos doing the rounds.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgzv77ldpdo



Anyone else have this playing in their head?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaEU_A405zA&t=...

[aeropilot]

6 man team from the Pathfinder Platoon.
Fair play to the nurse and doctor that tandem jumped in with them.

[Sheepshanks]

Incredible - are there any circumstances in which anything like this has happened before?

This whole hantavirus thing shows that if you're going to get ill while on holiday, it's best to do it as part of a crowd.

[Hill92]

Sheepshanks said:

Incredible - are there any circumstances in which anything like this has happened before?

This whole hantavirus thing shows that if you're going to get ill while on holiday, it's best to do it as part of a crowd.

There was a bomb threat to QE2 in May 1972 that led to a non-parachutist Ammunition Technical Officer being parachuted into the sea supported by 2 SBS marines and an SAS trooper.

https://www.worldofcruising.co.uk/editors-corner/c...

https://www.royalmarineshistory.com/post/2018/04/0...

The Royal Navy also maintain a Submarine Parachute Assistance Group who can parachute into the sea to support rescue efforts from a sunken submarine.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarine_Parachute_...

[WH16]

Hill92 said:

Sheepshanks said:

Incredible - are there any circumstances in which anything like this has happened before?

This whole hantavirus thing shows that if you're going to get ill while on holiday, it's best to do it as part of a crowd.

There was a bomb threat to QE2 in May 1972 that led to a non-parachutist Ammunition Technical Officer being parachuted into the sea supported by 2 SBS marines and an SAS trooper.

They made a movie about that one... sort of.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071706/?ref_=nv_sr_s...

[borcy]

Sheepshanks said:

Incredible - are there any circumstances in which anything like this has happened before?

This whole hantavirus thing shows that if you're going to get ill while on holiday, it's best to do it as part of a crowd.

First time something like this has been done for medical purposes.

[TGCOTF-dewey]

aeropilot said:

6 man team from the Pathfinder Platoon.
Fair play to the nurse and doctor that tandem jumped in with them.

Absolutely...above and beyond that act as you can almost guarantee that at least one caught an std on the way down.

[Skodillac]

I've project managed the installation of some shizzle on Tristan in the past, let me tell you it's not particularly easy to get kit and engineers to and from site! Sadly I didn't get to visit myself, but if I had I could have been stuck there for a few months. And there's not much to do...

Sadly for me the Paras weren't available to airdrop my kit and engineer in for me!

Kudos to all involved.

[Collectingbrass]

The guy who deserves the medals for this most is the Wing Co who had to tell the flight crew they were working the weekend...

[Camoradi]

Just looked up Tristan Da Cunha to see exactly how remote it was, and had to smile when I saw that just to the South West is the aptly named "Inaccessible Island"

Great effort by the people involved

[Gareth79]

aeropilot said:

6 man team from the Pathfinder Platoon.
Fair play to the nurse and doctor that tandem jumped in with them.

They were army medics so it's probably not as crazy as if it were a random doctor and nurse plucked from a local A&E, but I'm sure still very thrilling and plenty of material for some lectures and after-dinner speeches!

I assume the medics won't be able to drink alcohol, but the rest of them can make up for it...

[Scabutz]

Camoradi said:

Just looked up Tristan Da Cunha to see exactly how remote it was, and had to smile when I saw that just to the South West is the aptly named "Inaccessible Island"

Wiki: "The harbour on Inaccessible Island allows access for only a few days of the year", so not completly inaccessible then

[aeropilot]

Gareth79 said:

aeropilot said:

6 man team from the Pathfinder Platoon.
Fair play to the nurse and doctor that tandem jumped in with them.

They were army medics so it's probably not as crazy as if it were a random doctor and nurse plucked from a local A&E.

Since the closure of all military hospitals, a lot of them work in designated NHS hospitals now anyway.