Responding to a United Nations World Food Programme request, a Merlin helicopter from Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose has delivered urgent supplies to help remote villages in Sierra Leone.

The Merlin Mk2 helicopter from 820 Naval Air Squadron was tasked to airlift urgent supplies to a Community Care Centre in Kumala. The centre is a 28-bed facility for the care of Ebola patients, including young children under the age of five. Because it is in a mountainous area the centre is currently not accessible by road.

The Royal Navy helicopters flew in six heavy loads of building materials from the World Food Programme hub in Port Loko. Over five days 5.5 tonnes of equipment was transported which will be used to help keep the community centre operational.

Lieutenant Roger Angliss, a Royal Navy Observer on the Merlin helicopter said: “This is the first time that we have been asked to complete a mission of this type. We’ve flown many missions since deploying to Sierra Leone in support of the UK effort on the ground, but this mission was critical for the people of Kumala, as it is so remote.

"Without our help they could have gone weeks without trained healthcare workers to help them fight Ebola and I think I can speak for the whole crew when I say that we are extremely proud of the fact that we could help this small remote community.”

The staff from the UN agencies and their non-governmental partners, including the World Health Organisation, UNICEF and Oxfam, urgently require safe accommodation so they can continue to support the centre.

The units, delivered by the Royal Navy’s Merlin helicopters, will be assembled within a week to support 30 people working there, providing supervision and training to staff.

Mark Warne-Smith, of the World Food Programme said: “The UK Military assisted with what would have been a major logistical challenge if the building materials had to be moved by road; probably taking weeks, not days.”

RFA Argus departed Falmouth in mid October carrying three Merlin Mk2 helicopters from 820 Naval Air Squadron, two Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel, two Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats and three Zodiacs from 539 Assault Squadron Royal Marines.

All are being used to transport stores, equipment and medical personnel around Sierra Leone.