When Alaric Bond wrote of the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic in his novel, The Torrid Zone, set during  the Napoleanic wars, it was one of the most remote islands in the world. A recent rescue of a sick seven year old girl suggests that not too much has fundamentally changed. The nearest mainland, Angola is 1950 kilometers across open ocean. Saint Helena has no functioning airport. One is under construction but is not expected to operational until 2016.

When the call went out about a seriously ill girl, the heavy-lift ship MV Traveler responded, but was initially told that the ship was unsuitable. Two days later, when no other options became available, the ship was called again, and so the MV Traveler steamed back 180 miles to pick up the sick child. The ship carried the girl 700 miles to Ascension Island, the site of the closest airport, where she was airlifted by military plane to a hospital in London.  Thanks to Alaric Bond for passing along the news.

Ship diverts 180 miles to pick up sick girl – after first offer of help was turned down

BigLift, the owners of the MV Traveller, said in a statement that the ship was ten hours’ sailing time from St Helena when the request was made for the vessel to turn back to the island. “Her parents, a doctor and a nurse were taken on board. Assistance was requested and without hesitation, MV Traveller responded. The vessel was en route from Durban to the Virgin Islands so the deviation was relatively small. Despite the short notice we were pleased to assist and hope the girl will receive proper treatment and fully recover in time.”