The long ordeal for passengers and crew on the Hondius cruise ship affected by a deadly hantavirus outbreak is drawing to a close with their evacuation on Sunday in Tenerife under strict safety precautions.
The first passengers and crew were brought ashore in small groups by boat just hours after the vessel entered the port of Granadilla in southern Tenerife, part of Spain's Canary Islands. They were then taken by bus to Tenerife Sur airport and flown out.
Their evacuation comes about a week after the World Health Organization (WHO) first reported that three passengers had died in a suspected hantavirus outbreak. The virus can cause fever and severe respiratory illness in humans and is typically spread through contact with the urine, droppings or saliva of infected rodents.
Among those evacuated, one of five French passengers developed symptoms during a return flight from Tenerife to Paris, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Sunday.
All five were immediately placed under strict quarantine until further notice and are undergoing medical tests and treatment. The prime minister did not specify the nature of the symptoms.
First to disembark the ship were 14 Spanish nationals on board, including 13 passengers and one crew member. Wearing protective clothing and masks, they were transported to the airport in buses provided by Spain’s Military Emergency Unit (UME) and flown to Madrid, where they are to be quarantined at a military hospital under WHO supervision.
A Dutch evacuation flight later carried 26 passengers and crew members — including Dutch, German, Belgian and Greek nationals — to Eindhoven in the Netherlands. Spanish health authorities said all passengers on board were symptom-free before departure.
At Eindhoven airport, medical teams, including Red Cross personnel, examined the evacuees. Dutch passengers are to return home and undergo six weeks of quarantine.
Four German passengers were to be transferred from the military section of Eindhoven airport to Frankfurt by specialized emergency teams from the fire brigades in Essen and Frankfurt using a “special isolation transport.” They will then be placed in quarantine in their respective states, with local health authorities determining the measures.
One German passenger is expected to be taken to Berlin’s Charité hospital, while another contact person without symptoms will enter home quarantine in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg.
The evacuation operation involved multiple flights, with planes carrying Spanish, French and Canadian nationals departing earlier, and further flights planned for passengers from Britain, Ireland, Turkey, the United States, the Netherlands and Australia.
In total, around 140 to 150 passengers, crew members and accompanying experts from 23 countries were on board the Hondius. According to the WHO, there have been six confirmed hantavirus cases and two suspected cases, three of them fatal — involving an elderly Dutch couple and a German woman.
The WHO believes the chain of infection may have originated with the Dutch couple, who could have contracted the virus ashore in Argentina before boarding the ship.
Once all passengers have disembarked, the Hondius, which sails under the Dutch flag, is to continue its journey to Rotterdam with part of its crew. The body of the German victim will only be removed upon arrival there, where the vessel is also to be disinfected.
The outbreak of the South American Andes variant of the virus on the small cruise ship sparked global concern, with memories of the coronavirus pandemic still fresh.
The Hondius began its voyage in Argentina on April 1, anchored at Cape Verde then departed for the Canary Islands on Wednesday evening.
As more than 30 passengers and crew members disembarked during the ship’s stopovers, officials worldwide are searching for potential suspected cases.
