After the cargo cruise ship MV Hondius began its journey from eastern Europe to the Canary Islands, passengers started disembarking after authorities and tourist boards began evacuation plans due to an outbreak of hantavirus.
TENERIFE, Canary Islands : Passengers have started disembarking from the hantavirus-hit cruise ship anchored off Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands, hours after arriving there as evacuation plans got underway.
An Associated Press journalist at the scene on Sunday said that some people were seen reaching land after leaving the ship. Nobody among the more than 140 people on the MV Hondius is showing symptoms of the virus, Spanish authorities, the World Health Organization and cruise company Oceanwide Expeditions said.
Spain's health ministry said that Spanish nationals would be the first to leave the ship and would be ferried off in small launch boats that carry between five and 10 people. Three people have died since the outbreak and five passengers who left the ship are infected with hantavirus, which can cause life-threatening illness. Everyone disembarking will be checked for symptoms and were being taken off the ship once evacuation flights were ready to fly them to their destinations.
Authorities are aiming to complete the evacuation flights between Sunday and Monday, Spanish authorities and WHO said. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, along with Spain's health and interior ministers, will supervise the operation in Tenerife, the largest of Spain's Canary Islands off the coast of West Africa. Authorities have said the passengers and crewmembers who will disembark will have no contact with the local population.
Hantavirus usually spreads when people inhale contaminated residue of rodent droppings and isn't easily transmitted between people. But the Andes virus detected in the cruise ship outbreak may be able to spread between people in rare cases. Symptoms usually show between one and eight weeks after exposure. The Spanish nationals on board will be transferred to a medical facility and quarantined, authorities said.
Oceanwide has listed 13 Spanish passengers and one Spanish crewmember on board. Some Spanish passengers aboard the ship told The Associated Press that they're concerned about being stigmatised once back on shore. The United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands have agreed to send planes to evacuate their citizens. Americans on board will be quarantined at a medical centre in Nebraska.
Twenty-nine people will be on board the Dutch charter flight, including Dutch nationals and people of other nationalities, the Dutch Foreign Ministry said. Five French passengers will be repatriated today and will be in hospital for 72 hours for monitoring, after which they will quarantine at home for 45 days, France's Foreign Ministry said. UK passengers and crew will be hospitalised for observation once they are flown home, British authorities say.
Australia is sending a plane expected to arrive Monday to evacuate its nationals and those from nearby countries like New Zealand, García said. Its plane will be the last to leave Tenerife, she said. Norway has sent an ambulance plane to Tenerife with personnel trained for the transport of patients with high-risk infections, its Directorate for Civil Protection told public broadcaster NRK.
Passengers and crewmembers disembarking will leave behind their luggage and will be allowed to take only a small bag with essential items, a cellphone, charger and documentation. Some crew, as well as the body of a passenger who died on board, will remain on the ship, which will sail on to Rotterdam, Netherlands where it will undergo disinfection, Spanish authorities said.
Bike crashes into tourist allegedly jaywalking on Jalan Chow Kit AG-Public Prosecutor roles must be separated�for better�accountability, says Law MinisterHonour mothers’ unwavering strength and devotion, says Dr Wee in Mother’s Day wishes
Cruise Ship Passenger Evacuation Hantavirus Outbreak Andes Virus Local Population Contact
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Singapore says two cruise ship passengers test negative for hantavirus after isolationSINGAPORE, May 9 — Two Singapore residents who recently boarded the cruise ship MV Hondius tested negative for hantavirus, the Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) said.In a...
Read more »
Germany, France, Belgium, Ireland and Netherlands to send planes for passengers on hantavirus‑hit cruise shipMADRID, May 9 — Germany, France, Belgium, Ireland, and the Netherlands have confirmed they will send planes to evacuate nationals from their respective countries aboard the...
Read more »
How Spain plans to evacuate passengers from the hantavirus‑hit cruise ship off TenerifeSANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE (Spain), May 9 — Spain has agreed to receive a luxury cruise ship carrying 149 people from 23 countries that suffered an outbreak of hantavirus aboard...
Read more »
Spanish Civil Guard Waits for Cruise MV with Deadly Hantavirus Outbreak, WHO Labels All Passengers as High-Risk ContactsMembers of the Spanish Civil Guard wait for the arrival of the Cruise MV Hondius at port of Granadilla de Abona on the island of Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands on May 9, 2026. The World Health Organization (WHO) said Saturday that everyone on board the MV Hondius, which is at the centre of a deadly hantavirus outbreak, is considered a high-risk contact who should be actively monitored for 42 days. Three passengers from the ship have died, out of eight confirmed and suspected cases of the rare disease.
Read more »