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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle meet hero medic who pulled survivors from Afghanistan helicopter crash

Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, arrive at Dubbo City Regional Airport: AP
Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, arrive at Dubbo City Regional Airport: AP

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex today met a hero medic who pulled three survivors from a helicopter crash in Afghanistan.

Marcus Wilson, 47, an ex-soldier who was running a medical service at the time, was awarded Australia’s Bravery Medal for his actions.

Inspired by Prince Harry, Mr Wilson will be taking part in the sailing event at the Invictus Games.

Now manager of the Royal Flying Doctor Service in Broken Hill, about 1500 km from Sydney, Mr Wilson spent 14 years in the military - first as a gunner, then as a medic - before setting up a medical evacuation service for aid workers in Afghanistan.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex meet with health workers as they visit the Royal Flying Doctors Service (Getty Images)
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex meet with health workers as they visit the Royal Flying Doctors Service (Getty Images)

He was at NATO HQ in Kabul in October 2015 when a helicopter crashed near where he was standing.

“It missed me by 15-20 feet,” said Mr Wilson, who met the couple at a RFDS event at Dubbo, about 800 km west of Sydney. “It was an intense experience.

“I was the first on the scene. I got people to get fire extinguishers, and then spent one and a half hours retrieving the deceased and survivors from the wreckage, crawling through the air frame. The space that we crawled through was 35cm high. It was ankle deep in fuel.

Harry and Meghan visit the Royal Flying Doctors Service hangar (Getty Images)
Harry and Meghan visit the Royal Flying Doctors Service hangar (Getty Images)

“Because everything collapsed we had to use bolt cutters. We could not use saws because of the fuel.”

Five died - two RAF crew and three contractors - and four survived. Mr Wilson, who was one of three rescuers, added: “It was terrifying. If it caught on fire there was absolutely no escape.”

Mr Wilson said he went inside the helicopter because he was older than most people at the scene. “I had had a chance to live my life. I didn't want other people to take the risk that I felt I should take.”

Prince Harry and Meghan at Dubbo City Regional Airport in Dubbo (AP)
Prince Harry and Meghan at Dubbo City Regional Airport in Dubbo (AP)

Medically discharged from the army because of a spinal injury, and traumatised by the helicopter crash, Mr Wilson found himself at a loss after leaving Afghanistan. Then he watched the Invictus Games in Toronto, and volunteered for the Sydney games. “I have seen how much it has impacted not just on me, but other team members and their families.”

At the RFDS event, which saw a new aircraft being delivered as the service marked its 90th anniversary, the duke and duchess met patients including Keiley Storer, three, who has suffered from a larynx condition which blocks her airway.

She gave the duchess - who was wearing Outlander jeans, an Australian brand, a Maison Kitsune shirt and Serena Williams Collection shirt - a posy.

It turned out to be a two-way transaction.

Her mother Melissa, 34, said: “She said, ‘Would you like one too?’ and gave her the white one. Then she saw Keiley looking and said, ‘Would you like the big pink one?’

“But Keiley got distressed that she pulled apart the posy.”

Her father Christopher said: “She shed some tears shortly after. It was, ‘Oh no, my posy.’”

The couple also met nurses and other staff and volunteers from the service. David Charlton, RFDS aviation general manager, said they talked about how a few times a year babies are sometimes born mid-flight.

He said: “Our staff thought that was quite interesting, given the couple’s current condition. The couple found it most amusing, and interesting. We all wanted to ask if it was a boy or a girl, but everyone behaved themselves.”

Before leaving e couple cut a cake marking the anniversary. Harry gave it a good sniff, and helped himself to a bit of icing. “He licked the icing from the knife,” said Mr Charlton, “which in Australian parlance ‘is going straight to the pool room.’”