Hospital patients in Tennessee airlifted in dramatic rescue amid Helene floods

More than 50 hospital patients and staff were airlifted from the roof of the building in Tennessee on Friday afternoon in a dramatic rescue operation after flash flooding overwhelmed the area.

An urgent evacuation was launched as the storm effects of Hurricane Helene were felt far and wide, with the state emergency agency and the national guard responding to the situation that quickly unfolded at Unicoi hospital in Erwin, Tennessee, about 100 miles outside Knoxville.

The hospital chain Ballad Health, which oversees Unicoi hospital, said afternoon they received notice of a need to evacuate the hospital just after 9.30am on Friday, due to “unusually high and rising water from the Nolichucky River”.

Eleven patients were at the hospital when the evacuation efforts started, but while the hospital deployed ambulances, “the flooding of the property happened so quickly the ambulances could not safely approach the hospital”, the company said.

Local authorities then decided to deploy boats to help evacuate people, hospital officials said, but “unfortunately, the water around the hospital, which had also begun intruding inside the hospital, became extremely dangerous and impassable and prevented the boats from safely being able to evacuate”.

And in the immediate hours, helicopters could not safely fly because of high winds.

By early afternoon, 54 people were stranded on the roof of the building awaiting rescue, while seven were in rescue boats, hospital officials said.

“The hospital has been engulfed by extremely dangerous and rapidly moving water,” the statement read, adding: “The situation at the hospital is very dangerous.”

The statement from hospital officials added: “We ask everyone to please pray for the people at Unicoi county hospital, the first responders on-scene, the military leaders who are actively working to help, and our state leaders.”

On social media, photos were being shared of the patients and hospital employees on the roof of the building, surrounded by water.

Erwin’s police chief, Regan Tilson, told the local news station WCYB on Friday that no one had been injured in the flooding. The station also reported that several patrol cruisers and ambulances had been lost to the flood waters.

At 2.36pm, Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger, who represents Tennessee’s first congressional district, said that helicopters had arrived and were evacuating the stranded people.

But by 4.17pm, Tennessee US senator Bill Hagerty had tweeted about the operation’s success. “Everyone has been rescued safely from the roof of Unicoi County Hospital in Erwin. More trouble on the horizon for East Tennessee communities. Please stay safe and thank you for your prayers!” he posted.