The Spanish government has begun evacuating the first passengers from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius, which arrived in Tenerife this morning, completing a journey that began in southern Argentina on April 1.
A small group of passengers, all Spanish nationals, have now been sent to Tenerife’s port of Gandia, the Spanish Health Ministry said.
They will be taken directly from the port by military buses to the airport and evacuated by a Spanish government plane to Madrid, where they will be taken to a hospital and quarantined, officials said earlier, according to the British newspaper The Guardian.
The passengers, wearing plastic gowns, were taken off the ship by medical teams in protective suits. They boarded a small boat that carried them and headed straight to the airport, about four kilometers away.
EU Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib said a medically equipped plane was being sent from Norway to Tenerife in response to the hantavirus situation on board. An EU liaison officer is on site to help coordinate.
A cruise ship carrying more than 140 people infected with hantavirus has arrived in Tenerife, Spain’s largest Canary Island off the coast of West Africa, where passengers and some crew members will disembark.
The World Health Organization, Spanish authorities and the cruise ship’s operator said no one on board the MV Hondius is currently showing symptoms of the virus.
The evacuation operation was carefully planned to ensure maximum safety and to address concerns among local residents.
On Saturday, Spain’s interior minister said the UK, the US and several EU member states were sending planes. Medically equipped aircraft are also on standby in case anyone needs to be transported for isolation.
The Spanish nationals will be taken to Madrid, where they will be quarantined at the Gomez Ula military hospital. The virus has an incubation period of up to nine weeks.
