50+ people awaiting rescue on roof of Tennessee hospital

UNICOI COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) — More than 50 radical were sent to the extortion of a Tennessee infirmary connected Friday and were awaiting rescue arsenic flooding chopped the infirmary disconnected from land, according to Ballad Health.

Ballad, a infirmary concatenation headquartered successful Tennessee, said astatine 10:45 a.m. that the Unicoi County Hospital had closed and suspended operations owed to the menace of flooding.

Unicoi County Emergency Management Agency told infirmary enactment that the infirmary needed to beryllium evacuated owed to the "unusually precocious and rising h2o from the Nolichucky River."

There were 11 patients astatine the infirmary that Ballad planned to transfer. However, ambulances sent to evacuate the patients could not safely get to them owed to the rising water.

"The infirmary has been engulfed by highly unsafe and rapidly moving water," Ballad said successful a quality release. The h2o started coming into the gathering and was moving truthful quickly, rescue boats weren't capable to safely navigate the area.

Ballad confirmed that arsenic of 12:27 p.m., 54 radical had been relocated to the hospital's roof.

"Due to precocious winds, nary helicopters could safely alert successful an effort to assistance evacuate the hospital," the institution said.

By 2:50 p.m., conditions had improved and rescues by chopper got underway.

Nexstar's WJHL made attempts to get adjacent to the hospital, but roads successful the country are impassable. WJHL's Drone 11 was capable to seizure video of the radical stranded connected the roof. The drone footage besides shows the grade of the flooding successful the area.

The National Guard has sent resources to enactment with TEMA to assistance successful what Ballad leaders described arsenic "a unsafe rescue operation."

"We inquire everyone to delight commune for the radical astatine Unicoi County Hospital, the archetypal responders on-scene, the subject leaders who are actively moving to assistance and our authorities leaders," the merchandise states.

Elective surgeries astatine Ballad facilities person been postponed, and respective of the infirmary system's clinics and urgent attraction offices person closed.