More than 50 people were stranded Friday at an eastern Tennessee hospital due to fast-rising water and high winds, after several attempts to airlift them failed during a dangerous rescue operation, Ballad Health officials said.
The high winds and water levels prevented helicopter crews from airlifting patients and staff from Unicoi County Hospital in Erwin, Tennessee, hospital officials said.
Some people were waiting on the hospital's roof to be rescued.
“The situation at the hospital is very dangerous,” Ballad Health said on X, adding the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency and National Guard were engaged “in what can only be described as a dangerous rescue operation.”
All patients and team members have been rescued from the hospital and patients were transferred to another medical center, Ballad Health, which operates Unicoi County Hospital, said Friday night. Earlier in the afternoon it said 54 people were relocated to the roof of the facility and seven were in rescue boats.
Erwin Police Chief Regan Tilson said the rescue was a team effort.
“We had a lot of support and a lot of help,” he told NBC News’ Tom Llamas. “We needed it. We were able to get the patients, the staff, and the first responders out with the help of the Tennessee National Guard. And, of course, the Virginia State Police sent two helicopters. And without their support and help, we would have been in more trouble than we were.”
He said the rising floodwater took the community by surprise and made evacuating the hospital before the structure became an island virtually impossible.
The rescue mission comes as Hurricane Helene landed in Georgia, leaving widespread devastation throughout the southern U.S. More than 30 people are confirmed dead and millions are without power and electricity.
The Unicoi County Emergency Management Agency notified Ballad Health early Friday of the need to evacuate due to rising water from the Nolichucky River, the post read.
County leaders in Unicoi initially deployed ambulances but unusually high flooding prevented medics from safely approaching, Ballad Health said.
The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency has been working with local emergency management agencies to deploy boats for hospital evacuations, but water surrounding and entering the building became dangerous and impassable.
Unicoi County Emergency Medical Services Director Adam Copas said some first responders were trapped inside the hospital with patients and were able to help them get to its rooftop, where helicopter crews from the Tennessee Army National Guard and Virginia State Police pulled them from harm’s way.
“It was organized chaos, but there was a plan, and we executed it and affected that rescue the way that it should have been done and as safe as we possibly could,” Copas told Llamas.
Though the historic flooding astonished some, Copas said the region’s first responders have been subjected to flood scenario exercises, helping organization win over chaos.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event,” he said. “This is what we practice for and train for.”
