US-based company Samaritan's Purse is launching its third airlift to Jamaica, deploying an emergency field hospital to Black River, following Hurricane Melissa.

The Jamaican Ministry of Health requested the facility to provide urgent care as hospitals and infrastructure across the island have suffered significant damage due to the storm.

The 767-cargo plane will transport the medical facility, which will be established in Black River, where Melissa made landfall along the south-west coast of Jamaica and devastated the local hospital.

Members of Samaritan's Purse's disaster assistance response team (DART) will swiftly establish the Emergency Field Hospital upon their arrival in Jamaica.

The facility will have more than 30 inpatient beds and include an emergency room (ER), an intensive care unit (ICU), and an operating room to carry out surgical procedures.

It will also be equipped with an obstetric ward (OB) for neonatal and maternal care, along with a pharmacy, blood bank and laboratory.

Samaritan's Purse president Franklin Graham said: “We are bringing in doctors, nurses, and the entire team it takes to get this hospital up and running—along with all the equipment and supplies we need.

“Hospitals, homes, and entire communities have been devastated. We want these people to know that God loves them and we care about what they're going through.

“We will also continue distributing emergency supplies like water filters and shelter material.”

Samaritan's Purse has so far airlifted 39t of emergency relief to Jamaica, with further flights scheduled.

Its medical teams are also planning mobile clinics to provide care for those in need while helicopter medical evacuation routes are to be established for patients who require advanced treatment.