Dozens of people are trapped on the roof of a flooded Tennessee hospital during the Helene rains

ERWIN, Tenn. – Catastrophic flooding from Hurricane Helene has prompted an urgent rescue mission in the eastern Tennessee town of Erwin, where helicopters are racing to rescue dozens of staff and patients stranded on the roof of a flooded hospital.

Water from the swollen Nolichucky River began rising rapidly early Friday morning at Unicoi County Hospital, according to a statement from Ballad Health.

Hospital officials called ambulances to evacuate 11 patients, but the flooding quickly worsened, preventing ambulances from safely reaching the hospital.

Emergency responders then sent rescue boats to evacuate the hospital as water began pouring into the facility, but the water around the hospital became “extremely dangerous and impassable, preventing the boats from safely evacuating the hospital,” Ballad officials said Health.

Strong winds from Helene also made it too dangerous to attempt helicopter rescues, officials said.

By midday, 54 people had made it to the roof of the building and seven were able to stay in lifeboats.

“The hospital was inundated by extremely dangerous and fast-moving water,” officials said. “The situation at the hospital is very dangerous and (Tennessee emergency managers) and National Guard resources are engaged in a rescue operation that can only be described as dangerous.”

According to a post from Tennessee Rep. Diana Harshbarger, helicopters were finally able to begin aerial evacuation shortly after 2 p.m.

Updates to this story will be posted as more information becomes available.