Eight British Army personnel completed a daring mission to parachute onto the world’s most remote inhabited island to treat a British citizen suffering from the rat-borne hantavirus.
A specialist team parachuted onto the British overseas territory of Tristan da Cunha to treat the British national, who disembarked from the cruise ship MV Hondius onto the island, where they live.
Six paratroopers, an RAF consultant and an Army nurse from 16 Air Assault Brigade, had to be airdropped onto the island in the South Atlantic, as the territory does not have an airstrip.
The Brigade’s commander said the troops would have immediately had to turn straight into the wind as soon as they jumped, to avoid the strong winds blowing them past the island and off into the Atlantic Ocean.
The remote island also has a huge shield volcano reaching heights of 2,062 metres above sea level and is still considered to be active, following an underwater eruption in 2004.
Once through the cloud, the troops faced another challenge, as the drop zone was a golf course covered in rocks.
Now safely on the island after a successful descent, they are tasked with treating a patient suspected of being infected with the deadly hantavirus.
British Army paratroopers aboard an RAF A400 prepare for a drop onto the remote Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha to provide medical support and supplies
Medical supplies were airdropped onto the remote British overseas territory in the South Atlantic
Tristan da Cunha has a population of just 221 and has just two doctors and four nurses working at its only hospital.
Oxygen supplies and medical aid were also airdropped from the plane onto the island, which is normally only accessible by boat.
The mission marks the first time that military personnel and medical supplies have been delivered to the island by parachute.
An RAF A400M transport aircraft flew from RAF Brize Norton to Ascension Island, supported by an RAF Voyager, before heading to Tristan da Cunha.
Brigadier 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’.
He told Sky News: ‘No air strip, 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 is 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.’
Captain George Lacey, second in command of the British Army’s Pathfinders, said it was a ‘really long distance to get here from Colchester where we’re based’.
Oxygen supplies and medical aid were also airdropped from the plane onto the island
Speaking from Tristan da Cunha, he told Sky News: ‘We donned our parachutes and exited the aircraft into some relatively tricky conditions, I have to admit. But we are trained for that sort of mission.
‘The guys have got hundreds of jumps and we train all year round ready for exactly this sort of situation, and for us, this is our bread and butter.
‘The guys are highly trained and for us, this is a dream mission.’
He added: ‘The islanders were obviously very happy to see us. They’ve welcomed us with open arms and looked after us.’
The Ministry of Defence said it was the first time medical personnel had been parachuted in to provide humanitarian support.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the safety of ‘all members of the British family’ is the top priority.
She said: ‘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.’
On Saturday, three additional medical staff also arrived on the British overseas territory of St Helena, another remote island in the Atlantic Ocean.
The MV Hondius made a stop off in St Helena on April 24 following the death of a Dutch man onboard.
The island’s government announced that an infection prevention and control specialist and two laboratory scientists had been deployed to the island along with two members of the Ministry of Defence.
In a statement, the government of St Helena said: ‘The arrival of additional personnel and equipment on St Helena does not change the current position.
‘It is not a cause for concern but a matter of reassurance. There are no symptomatic individuals on the island and no suspected cases.
‘We still consider the risk to the wider community to be very low.
‘As we have stated throughout, we continue to plan with an abundance of caution given the potential medical consequences, should a case be confirmed.’
Locals watch from the ground as a military personnel parachute onto the island for the first time in history
Meanwhile, 4,300miles away in the North Atlantic, passengers on the MV Hondius finally disembarked in Tenerife and made their way home.
British passengers were then tested for hantavirus before being taken on a repatriation flight to Manchester Airport.
Now back in the UK, they have arrived to isolate at the hospital used as the UK’s initial Covid quarantine site, at Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral, Merseyside
The UKHSA said the risk to the public ‘remains very low’.
The passengers will be housed in an accommodation block on the Arrowe Park site away from the hospital’s public areas to receive clinical assessments and testing as a precautionary measure.
The hospital was used to house British citizens returning from Wuhan, China, in January 2020 at the start of the Covid pandemic.
The 20 British passengers, one German national who is a UK resident and one Japanese passenger were tested for hantavirus before getting on the flight.
They have now been taken to isolate at the UK’s initial Covid quarantine site at Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral, Merseyside.
The passengers are expected to be kept in the ‘managed setting’ for up to 72 hours, emergency services said.
They added that the NHS Trust and hospital is ‘operating as normal’ with no risk to patients, visitors or staff and ‘people should continue to come forward for care as usual’.
Following their isolation, public health specialists will assess whether passengers can isolate at home or at another suitable location based on their living arrangements.
They will then stay in self-isolation for 45 days and will not be allowed to take public transport to their homes.
The UKHSA said strict infection control measures were in place throughout the journey, with passengers, crew, drivers and medical teams all wearing necessary personal protective equipment such as face masks.
They said that during the 72-hour period at Arrowe Park, public health specialists from UKHSA and infectious diseases specialists from the NHS will assess their current condition and determine where the passengers can suitably isolate.
Subsequently, during their isolation period, passengers will have daily contact with UKHSA health protection teams to check on their wellbeing to ensure that they are supported to isolate safely.
The UK government will ensure those self-isolating are given the appropriate support as needed.
Professor Robin May, Chief Scientific Officer at UKHSA, said: ‘We are pleased to confirm that all British nationals onboard the MV Hondius have now safely returned to the UK and are being supported by UKHSA and NHS medical experts at Arrowe Park, who have worked at pace to prepare for the safe arrival of passengers at the facility.
‘Staff at Arrowe Park have once again demonstrated their commitment and professionalism in responding rapidly to a health emergency, and we are very grateful.
‘Throughout this incident, we have worked closely with government departments including FCDO, DHSC, MHCLG and MOD alongside international partners to support the safe repatriation of British passengers. The safety and wellbeing of those passengers remains our priority.
‘The risk remains very low for members of the general public.’
A plane carrying repatriated British nationals from the cruise ship MV Hondius, which was affected by a hantavirus outbreak, arrives at Manchester Airport
The cruise ship MV Hondius arrives at the port after being affected by a hantavirus outbreak, in Tenerife, on Sunday
Public Health Minister Sharon Hodgson said: ‘I want to thank all those who have worked to bring our British nationals home and the NHS workers now caring for them at Arrowe Park Hospital – their dedication and professionalism show our NHS at its very best.
‘None of the passengers are symptomatic but we will monitor them closely over the next 72 hours at the hospital, as part of a precautionary isolation period.
‘With no cases or symptoms among them and both our stringent monitoring and isolation measures, the risk to the public remains extremely low.’
The World Health Organisation said on Saturday there were no symptomatic passengers on board the ship.
The UN health agency said there had been six confirmed hantavirus cases linked to MV Hondius and four patients were currently in hospital.
It added that a total of eight cases, including three deaths, had been reported – with one previous suspected case being reclassified after testing negative for hantavirus.
The two confirmed British cases are in hospital in South Africa and the Netherlands, while the third British national in Tristan da Cunha was being supported by health services on the remote South Atlantic island.
Janelle Holmes, the chief executive of Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said in a letter to staff: ‘We have been asked by NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to house the guests, recognising how quickly and positively we responded to and supported the repatriation of British nationals from Wuhan and the Diamond Princess prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘We will be welcoming the guests on Sunday May 10, 2026 and they will all be screened for symptoms before they arrive on site; nobody showing any symptoms will be transferred here.
‘If anyone becomes unwell after arrival, they will be transferred quickly to another facility.’
Emergency services in the north west of England said they expected the passengers to be kept in a ‘managed setting’ for up to 72 hours.
Public health specialists will then assess whether they can isolate at home or at another suitable location based on their living arrangements.
Britons returning to the UK will stay in self-isolation for 45 days and will not be allowed to take public transport to their homes.