Passengers aboard the cruise ship at the centre of a deadly hantavirus outbreak that has triggered international concern began disembarking in Spain’s Canary Islands on Sunday, according to Spanish health authorities and AFP journalists at the scene.
The evacuation operation started from the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius, which anchored off Tenerife after authorities approved a tightly controlled disembarkation process.
Spain’s health ministry confirmed in a Telegram statement that “the disembarkation of the passengers and the Spanish crew member has started,” while AFP reporters observed the first group leaving the vessel aboard small transfer boats headed for the port of Granadilla.
Passengers and crew members, many dressed in blue protective medical suits, were transported in batches according to nationality before boarding charter flights arranged to return them to their respective countries.
Spanish Health Minister Monica Garcia said 14 Spanish nationals were the first to leave the ship, followed by Dutch-organised evacuations involving Dutch, German, and Greek passengers, as well as members of the crew.
Separate repatriation flights were also scheduled for citizens of Canada, Turkey, France, Britain, Ireland, and the United States.
According to Garcia, the final evacuation flight — carrying mostly Australian passengers and crew — is expected to depart on Monday, after which the ship will continue its journey to the Netherlands.
The outbreak has drawn global attention because the strain identified onboard is the Andes virus — the only known hantavirus strain capable of spreading from person to person.
The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed on Friday that six of eight suspected cases had tested positive, although officials said there were no remaining suspected cases aboard the vessel.
Despite the alarm surrounding the outbreak, health authorities have stressed that the broader public health risk remains low and have dismissed comparisons to the COVID-19 pandemic.
There are currently no vaccines or specific treatments for hantavirus infections, which are endemic in parts of South America, including Argentina, where the voyage began in April.
The MV Hondius departed from Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1 for an expedition cruise across the Atlantic toward Cape Verde before arriving in Tenerife on Sunday morning.
Three infected passengers had already been medically evacuated from Cape Verde to Europe earlier in the week.
The WHO believes the initial infection likely occurred before the cruise departed, with subsequent human-to-human transmission taking place onboard.
However, Argentine provincial health official Juan Petrina argued there was an “almost zero chance” that the Dutch passenger linked to the outbreak contracted the virus in Ushuaia, citing the disease’s long incubation period and other epidemiological factors.
Authorities in Tenerife imposed strict containment measures during the operation to prevent contact between evacuees and the local population.
AFP journalists at Granadilla observed police cordons around parts of the industrial port, with officers — some wearing protective medical gear — securing the area while white medical tents were erected along the quay.
Regional authorities in the Canary Islands had initially resisted allowing the ship to dock, permitting it only to anchor offshore due to fears surrounding the outbreak.
Health authorities in several countries are now tracing passengers who had previously disembarked during the voyage, as well as individuals who may have come into contact with them.
