The Dieter Morszeck Foundation is helping the victims of Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas. Three airplanes are bringing medical personnel, drinking water and food to the islands. People in need of medical assistance are flown out.

Three airplanes from the Cologne-based Dieter Morszeck Foundation have begun rescue flights to the Bahamas, according to a press release. The first missions took off last Thursday from Fort Lauderdale in Florida to the hard-hit north-east of the Bahamas. Around 100 injured and sick people have so far been flown from the devastated islands to the capital Nassau or to Florida, where they are receiving medical assistance. On the way there, the planes transport drinking water, food and hygiene products for the population of the islands hit hard by the hurricane.

The foundation’s three aircraft are equipped with floats and can take off and land both on water and on paved runways: Quest Kodiak 100, Pilatus Porter PC-6 and Cessna 206 are in use, with space for up to eight passengers or one ton of cargo. Patients can be transported lying down if required. The aircraft were procured by the Dieter Morszeck Foundation to provide medical care to inhabitants of the jungle in Brazil.

We rescue people who have been injured or become seriously ill as a result of Hurricane Dorian. On the outbound flights to the islands, the planes transport bottled drinking water, canned food and hygiene products. Our small planes also reach the outermost islands in the northeast of the Bahamas. Many people there have lost everything. Their homes have been destroyed and they are currently living in very difficult hygienic conditions. Since the beginning of the mission, more than 55 tons of drinking water, food and emergency relief supplies have been brought to the remote islands as part of the rescue flights.

The foundation’s planes can land on small airfields or directly in the water to pick up people in distress on beaches or from boats. “The missions are very demanding. We can also land on the water with our floats, but there is a lot of wood and garbage floating there after the storm, which can be dangerous,” explains professional pilot Cedric Gitschenko from Zurich, who lives part-time in the Bahamas and is currently flying non-stop rescue missions. The missions are also difficult on a human level. “When I see what the storm has done, my heart bleeds. But thanks to the Dieter Morszeck Foundation and numerous volunteers from Florida, we can do our bit to at least alleviate some of the suffering.”