TENERIFE, Spain: Passengers began disembarking on Sunday from the Dutch-flagged cruise ship MV Hondius at the centre of a hantavirus outbreak, as governments launched evacuation and quarantine operations amid international concern over the disease.
Spanish authorities, the World Health Organization and the ship’s operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, said passengers were being repatriated under strict health protocols after the vessel docked in Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands.
Three people have died since the outbreak began aboard the ship, while several passengers who disembarked earlier tested positive for hantavirus.
Passengers wearing protective suits were escorted off the vessel in small groups by medical personnel and military staff dressed in full-body protective gear and respirators, according to footage from Tenerife.
Spanish health officials said all passengers still aboard the vessel were asymptomatic at the time of disembarkation.
A spokesperson for Spain’s Health Ministry said the evacuation process was proceeding as planned and would continue until sunset before resuming on Monday morning.
Spanish nationals were among the first evacuees flown to Madrid, where they were transferred to a military hospital for quarantine and monitoring.
A plane carrying French nationals later landed in Paris, while British passengers were transported to Manchester for medical observation.
French passenger develops symptoms
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said one of five French nationals repatriated from Tenerife developed hantavirus symptoms during the flight to France.
“As a result, these five passengers were immediately placed in strict isolation until further notice,” Lecornu said in a post on X.
He added that the passengers were receiving medical care and would undergo testing and health assessments.
The French government also planned additional isolation measures for close contacts, he said.
Netherlands imposes quarantine
A separate evacuation flight carrying 26 passengers and crew members, including eight Dutch nationals, arrived in the Netherlands on Sunday, according to the Dutch foreign ministry.
Authorities said all evacuees would remain in quarantine for around six weeks.
Dutch residents would isolate at home, while foreign nationals would be transferred to designated quarantine facilities.
Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen said he was relieved passengers were safely returning after “a period of uncertainty”.
Spanish civil protection chief Virginia Barcones said the flight also carried Belgian, Greek, German, Guatemalan and Argentine citizens.
Two infected evacuees who had earlier arrived in the Netherlands remain hospitalised in stable condition.
WHO urges calm
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged the public not to panic, stressing that the outbreak did not pose a major global threat.
“This is not another COVID,” Tedros said. “The risk to the public is low.”
WHO health operations lead Diana Rojas Alvarez, who is overseeing operations in Tenerife, said passengers were relieved to finally leave the vessel.
“It’s been great seeing all the buses coming out and people really happy to be on land again and being repatriated,” she said.
WHO officials said countries receiving passengers should conduct active monitoring and daily health checks because symptoms may emerge weeks after exposure.
Global response expands
Countries continued to organise quarantine and medical arrangements for returning passengers.
US residents aboard the vessel are expected to quarantine at a medical facility in Nebraska, while British authorities said UK passengers would remain under hospital observation.
Australia is dispatching a government aircraft to evacuate Australians, New Zealanders and several Asian nationals from Tenerife.
Norway also sent a specialised air ambulance team trained to transport high-risk infectious patients.
Meanwhile, British Army medics parachuted onto the remote South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha to treat a suspected hantavirus case involving a British passenger who had left the ship before the outbreak was identified.
The UK Defence Ministry said six paratroopers and two medical specialists were deployed along with emergency medical supplies and oxygen equipment.
Spanish authorities said passengers and crew members leaving the ship were allowed to carry only essential personal items, while luggage remained aboard for decontamination.
Some crew members and the body of a passenger who died onboard will remain on the vessel as it sails to Rotterdam in the Netherlands for full disinfection procedures.
