Pitbull sends private plane to Puerto Rico to transport cancer patients
Published at
Cassandra Santiago and Tina Burnside, CNN
(CNN) — Rapper Pitbull sent his private plane to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico to transport cancer patients to the mainland US for chemotherapy treatments.
Hurricane Maria left Puerto Rico in ruins, with mass power outages and almost half the residents without drinking water. Of the island’s 69 hospitals, only 11 had fuel and power on Tuesday.
The lack of electricity and fuel have yielded dire consequences.
At a hospital in San Juan, two people died in an intensive care unit after it ran out of diesel, San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz said. And 12 children continue to depend on generators and batteries to keep ventilators running at San Jorge Children’s Hospital.
The 36-year-old rapper hasn’t been public about the part he’s playing to ferry patients. When contacted by CNN, he said through a spokesman, “Thank God we’re blessed to help. Just doing my part.”
But the gesture hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“Thank you @pitbull for lending your private plane to transport cancer patients from PR to the USA so they can get chemo,” tweeted Rep. Jenniffer González, who represents Puerto Rico in Congress.