See what it’s like for a paratrooper to glide through the sky and land on Tristan da Cunha through first-hand footage
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Footage released by UK Defence has shown the moment a paratrooper plunges out of an aircraft 7,000 metres above ground to land on the remote island of Tristan da Cunha, delivering vital medical support.
A team from the British Army parachuted to the island to deliver medical supplies and clinicians, where a British national was suspected of having contracted hantavirus.
After being alerted about the potential case, the team from 16 Air Assault Brigade formed a plan with the RAF, gathered specialised troops and kit and flew 7,000 miles to parachute onto the island.
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With a population of around 200 inhabitants, Tristan da Cunha has no airstrip and is only accessible via a week-long boat crossing from South Africa. However, such a journey would have taken too long to deliver vital oxygen supplies and to support the island’s two-person medical team looking after a seriously ill patient.
A team of eight troops – six from Pathfinders, the brigade’s advance force, and a consultant anaesthetist and an intensive care nurse from 16 Medical Regiment – took off in an RAF A400M transport aircraft from RAF Brize Norton.
Coupled with its rugged terrain, Tristan da Cunha also has gusting Atlantic winds, requiring specialist parachuting skills to land safely. The six soldiers – who were trained in free-fall parachuting to land discreetly behind enemy lines – jumped from 7,000 feet to land on the island’s golf course. Medics jumped in tandem with soldiers before heading to the island’s small hospital.
Once on land, the soldiers marked a drop zone on a vegetable patch for 2,500 kilograms of oxygen and medical supplies to be dropped onto.
‘This was a joint effort with the Royal Air Force and highlights the speed, reach and utility of parachuting,’ said Ed Cartwright, the officer commanding the 16 Air Assault Brigade.
‘The arrival of paratroopers, medical personnel and medical supplies from the sky has hopefully reassured the people of Tristan da Cunha.’
