Germany, France, Belgium, Ireland and the Netherlands will send aircraft to Tenerife to evacuate their citizens aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius, which has been hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak, Spain’s Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said in Madrid on Saturday.
The European Union is sending two further planes for the remaining EU citizens, while the United States and the United Kingdom have confirmed their own evacuation arrangements. Contingency plans are being drawn up for non-EU passengers whose countries cannot send air transport, the minister said.
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is travelling to Tenerife alongside Spain’s interior and health ministers to coordinate the operation. The MV Hondius is expected to anchor near the island between 0300 GMT and 0500 GMT on Sunday.
Local authorities have warned that the evacuation must be completed between Sunday midday and Monday afternoon, before sea conditions deteriorate. Stormy weather is forecast in the area until the end of May.
The luxury vessel left Cape Verde for Spain on Wednesday at the request of the WHO and EU, after a hantavirus outbreak was detected on board. The WHO said on Friday that eight people had fallen ill — six confirmed cases and two suspected — including three deaths: a Dutch couple and a German national. Hantavirus is usually spread by rodents but can in rare cases be transmitted between humans.
All passengers and 17 crew members will be evacuated, while 30 crew will remain on board to sail the ship on to the Netherlands, Spain’s Health Minister Mónica García said. Luggage and the body of a passenger who died on board will remain on the vessel pending full disinfection. Spanish citizens will disembark first, with the order for other groups determined by health authorities. Citizens will not be allowed to leave the ship until their evacuation flights are ready to depart.
Ada Derana cited Reuters as the source.
