Taru Carr-Hartley and Roan Wiki – Taru Carr-Hartley and Roan Biography
Brave helicopter pilot Taru Carr-Hartley, 22, and younger brother and crew member Roan, 20, both wildlife conservation aviators, pulled off this incredible Mission star-worthy rescue. Impossible, Tom Cruise. These brother heroes dramatically saved the life of a terrified trucker who had been clinging to the cab of his disabled tanker truck for over six hours in a raging, crocodile-infested river.
The trucker was crossing a causeway over the Galana River in Kenya’s Tsavo East National Park when he was suddenly hit by a flash flood after heavy rain 30 miles upstream. The driver’s fully loaded tanker truck was dragged out of the crossing and, to the driver’s horror, flipped over on its side, trapping him in the cab with no chance of being hit.
He managed to open the cabin window at 10 am and get out and rescuers on the river bank were waiting for the flooding to subside so they could reach the driver, but the water level kept rising. Six and a half hours later, when all seemed lost, a frantic call was made to the world-famous Sheldrick Wildlife Trust asking if they had a helicopter available for a last-ditch rescue effort.
Taru Carr-Hartley and brother Roan Rescue as hero brothers pluck lorry driver
The game park’s airborne unit, which normally uses helicopters to protect and rescue elephants and rhinos, was immediately dispatched with the Trust’s owners, two ranger sons Taru and Roan, as crew. A spokesperson for the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust said: “When they reached the Galana River causeway, the children could immediately see the broken truck completely dwarfed by a very angry river.”
“As they flew closer, they were relieved to see the driver was still holding on, but the water had pushed the tanker to the side, breaking the windshield and engulfing the cab, and time was running out. “It was only a matter of time before the entire vehicle was completely engulfed by the river and bystanders watched helplessly from the bank in horror but unable to help due to the eddying current.”
“It was impossible to get to them from the bank and Taru and Roan were the driver’s only chance and Taru slowly guided the helicopter within six inches of the truck.” ‘Roan put on his harness got out and climbed into the truck, grabbed the driver’s hand, guided him to the helicopter, and then climbed back on himself – a textbook rescue!
“It was a high-risk rescue mission that ended with the best possible outcome,” the Trust said. The overjoyed trucker was placed on higher ground where ground rescuers awaited him and the hero brothers took off again and returned to their base in the national park.
A short time later, it was reported that the gasoline tanker truck was swept downriver into deeper water, likely causing the stranded driver to lose his life. It wasn’t the first time Roan had been hailed as a hero, as in December 2022 a 4-year-old goat herder lost contact with his brother and disappeared into the remote African wilderness.
Fixed-wing pilot Roan went up to the national park to look for him along with 70 local villagers, but the rain washed away the boy’s footprints and trackers had to find them again. Six days later, they picked up the tracks of the missing boy eleven miles from the village deep in hyena territory, and again Roan took off and several hours later saw the boy.
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He used his plane to guide the villagers to the starving boy who had survived six days and nights in the wild, full of predators, suffering only a multitude of painful mosquito bites. The villagers changed the boy’s name Roan to his savior and presented the pilot with a goat.
The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust was founded by conservationist Dame Daphne Sheldrick in 1977 in memory of her husband David and covers more than 2 million acres of wilderness in Kenya.
It is the world’s most successful orphaned elephant and rhino rescue, rehabilitation, and reintegration project and is now run by Angela, the daughter of Daphne’s CEO. She married Robert Carr-Hartley and they both run SWT ably assisted by their two dashing and dashing sons, Taru and Roan, who are experienced fixed-wing and helicopter pilots.
They are also hands-on park rangers who work in the bush to conserve and rescue wildlife and land. A family friend said: “From the moment they were born, they were real-life Mowgli and despite their youth, there’s not much they don’t know about African wildlife.”
They are just as comfortable in the air as they are in the jungle doing what they can for the animals of Kenya and this amazing helicopter rescue is something they will just take in their stride. “Just another day at work in a very beautiful office for that couple,” she said.
One person commented on the YouTube video: “What an amazing flight and getting so close to the tanker in those flight conditions was just remarkable, both very very brave.” Another said: ‘Absolutely amazing. God bless you all. The men who operate that helicopter must have nerves of steel. Good job guys and thank you very much. It was the truckers’ lucky day.
The Trust’s founder, Daphne Sheldrick, who was born in Kenya but had British roots, was made an MBE by the Queen in 1989 and then Dame in 2006 for her lifetime of tireless conservation work. Her daughter Angela, the mother of Taru and Roan, took over as CEO of the Trust in 2001 and sadly, her mother Daphne passed away in 2018 at the ripe age of 83.
Taru and Roan’s father, Robert Carr-Hartley, in addition to running the Trust with his wife, is a top helicopter pilot and award-winning photographer who consulted on the blockbuster films Out of Africa and The Lion King.
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