A mother identified as Dayanis Legrá was airlifted along with her newborn from a hard-to-reach rural area in the province of Guantánamo after giving birth in the early morning amidst the effects of Hurricane Melissa.
According to a report from the official Cuban Television, around 11 in the morning, at the request of the Provincial Defense Council in Guantánamo, the crew heading towards Casimba de Filipina in the Niceto Pérez municipality had to change course to assist a pregnant woman who decided to give birth at a location known as El Descanso.
Back in the capital city, and once the mother and baby were safe, the aircraft resumed its flight to the starting point to deliver several tons of products, in an operation that required two consecutive trips.
On the same day, the pilots also urgently transported the postoperative patient Rolando Rodríguez to the Provincial Hospital Doctor Agostino Neto.
Later, the aerial team continued its journey to San Fernando de Rialengo 18, in the municipality of El Salvador, with new shipments of basic basket products intended for the area’s residents, as well as a radio amateur tasked with restoring communication that had been lost since the passage of the hurricane.
The report highlighted that the crew completed five round trips in just six hours, under complex conditions and over areas still affected by the rains.
The official television described the operation as a "feat whose greatest motivation is the recognition of the people."
The helicopter evacuation of a mother and her baby from a remote area of Guantánamo has not been an isolated incident. In recent days, various rescue operations have been deployed throughout eastern Cuba due to the impact of Hurricane Melissa.
In Holguín, a man was rescued after spending three days on the roof of his house, without water or food, surrounded by the waters of a sudden flood.
In Guamo, Granma, a ferrobús was deployed to evacuate residents trapped between blocked sections of track, an improvised action that successfully saved dozens of people.
In the southern part of the same province, in the community of Mango in Río Cauto, rescuers succeeded in evacuating over 100 people isolated by the rising river, under extreme conditions and without external communication.
Currently, nearly 8,000 people remain evacuated in Río Cauto, many housed in makeshift centers and others staying with relatives, while efforts are being made to restore essential services and assess the damages.
These operations highlight the extent of the emergency and the precarious access to affected communities, where evacuations become a logistical and humanitarian challenge.
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