Hancock Co. pilot risks life to save strangers from polluted water after hurricanes

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - Joe Hurston with Air Mobile Ministries is yet again helping people in distress from war and natural disasters. Hurston returned from his last trip to Ukraine Wednesday evening after he delivered 50 water purifiers, which can turn polluted water into safe drinking water for thousands at a time.

East Tennesseans have since donated new pieces to update the purifiers so they can produce more water at a faster pace.

Hurston’s next mission is taking him to Florida and Puerto Rico following Hurricanes Fiona and Ian. He’s especially hoping to land in Puerto Rico soon as hundreds of thousands of people are still without power as of Wednesday evening.

“We don’t know exactly what we’re going to find,” Hurston said. “We try to stack the deck as best we can. We try to make contacts before we go in but a lot of times these things happen very quickly.”

Hurston plans to fly his plane along with his purifiers first to Florida once the updated devices are ready.

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