Royal Navy helicopter crew rescues people trapped in rubble from Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas

Handout photo dated 03/09/19 issued by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of the island Great Abaco, one of the first to get hit by Hurricane Dorian after she turned into a category 5 hurricane. The Royal Navy has launched operations to deliver aid to communities hit by Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas. PA Photo. Issue date: Thursday September 5, 2019. Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) landing ship Mounts Bay has been deployed to work alongside the Royal Bahamas Defence Force to help deliver shelter kits, water and other essentials to the island of Great Abaco. See PA story DEFENCE Bahamas. Photo credit LPhot Paul Halliwell/MoD/Crown copyright/PA Wire

The Wildcat helicopter, operating from Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Mounts Bay, was flying over Great Abaco Island to assess damage when its crew were suddenly requested to evacuate a casualty from Elbow Cay, who was removed from rubble.

The Wildcat also conducted a casualty evacuation of a woman, her two children and a baby. The helicopter crew was made up of Flight Commander Lieutenant Lee Holborn, Flight Observer Lieutenant Keith Webb and medical officer Surgeon Lieutenant Rebecca Miles.

Surgeon Lt Miles said: ‘The children were in a poorly condition and required immediate medical care. It was hugely rewarding to use my training and skills to provide essential and immediate life-saving care to this family.’

On a later flight, RFA medical technician Graham Trevaskis, was tasked with helping an elderly lady with diabetes. She was also airlifted to Nassau.

Lt Holborn added: ‘We are ready to provide assistance where necessary and it is always rewarding to know that you have made a significant difference, not only to the wider island, but to the individual families of those affected.’

The RFA Mounts Bay crew have so far delivered shelter kits, ration packs and water. The Wildcat will also be airlifting relief to outlying, cut off communities is liaison with the Royal Bahamian Defence Force.

She will bring ashore her heavy plant equipment such as all-terrain quads, dump trucks, and diggers. RFA Mounts Bay’s specialist crew and kit make her best placed to open the port and clear the airport runway so more international aid, including relief arriving from the United States, can reach the island.

The ship has been in the Caribbean since June in preparation for the hurricane season and was re-tasked last week to sail to the Bahamas in anticipation of Hurricane Dorian, the strongest ever recorded in the region.????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????