A cruise ship with roughly 1,700 passengers and crew members onboard has docked in the south-western French city of Bordeaux due to a wave of gastrointestinal illnesses on the boat, local authorities said on Wednesday.
Those onboard are not being allowed to go ashore, local health authorities and the prefecture announced.
The captain has said that some 50 passengers have fallen ill, while local newspaper Sud Ouest and other French media reported that a British passenger aged over 90 had died.
Doctors have gone on board the Ambition to assess the situation and take samples, the authorities said.
French authorities stressed there is no reason to establish a link between this outbreak on board the cruise ship, which arrived from Belfast and Liverpool, and the Hondius cruise ship, which has been affected by a hantavirus outbreak.
Authorities said they will decide on upcoming steps on Wednesday, once initial test results are available.
The Ambition had originally planned to set course for Spain.
The Hondius headed for the port of Tenerife on Sunday, where the passengers were evacuated.
At present, 11 confirmed or probable hantavirus cases have been recorded in connection with the ship, which had departed from Argentina in early April.
These include three passengers who died. They either had a confirmed diagnosis or were suspected of having been infected with the Andes virus type of hantavirus.
