A soldier on a parachute to Tristan da Cunha for hantavirus aid

Members of the British Army have parachuted into the remote Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha to help a British national with suspected hantavirus.

Two paratroopers jumped in with an intensive care nurse and a specialist doctor. Medical supplies have also been delivered.

The patient left the MV Hondius, a cruise ship hit by a deadly outbreak of the virus in mid-April in Britain’s most remote overseas territory.

Captain George Lacey, who jumped with a Pathfinders platoon based at Colchester Garrison, said high winds made the mission “particularly tricky”.

He said the team would stay on the island for a few days to recover, because “unfortunately, you can’t parachute back onto the island.”