Madrid Announces Global Effort to Evacuate Cruise Ship Passengers Amid Hanta Virus Outbreak
Madrid announced on Saturday that several countries around the world will send planes to evacuate their citizens from the cruise ship "Hondius," which is en route to Spain and has been affected by a Hanta virus outbreak.
Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska stated that Germany, France, Belgium, Ireland, and the Netherlands have confirmed plans to send aircraft to repatriate their citizens on board the ship. He added that the European Union will also mobilize two additional planes to ensure the transfer of other European citizens. The United States and the United Kingdom are also preparing evacuation operations and emergency plans for non-European passengers whose countries do not have dedicated air capabilities.
The cruise ship's operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, stated that the "Hondius," flying the Dutch flag, is expected to arrive early Sunday morning on the Spanish island of Tenerife. In a statement released on Friday, the company clarified that preparations for disembarkation, quarantine measures, passenger testing, and return plans for travelers and crew members involved were coordinated by several international organizations and national authorities, including the World Health Organization (WHO), Dutch and Spanish authorities.
The company reported that no new symptoms had been reported on board as of Friday evening. Once the ship is docked at the Granadilla port in Tenerife, Spanish authorities will take charge of medical procedures and potential repatriation of passengers.
Meanwhile, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived in Spain on Saturday to oversee the secure disembarkation of passengers. On the platform X, he stated that he is in constant contact with the ship's captain and a WHO representative on board, emphasizing that no other symptomatic cases have been detected so far.
In related news, the Spanish Ministry of Health announced that a second suspected case of the Andean variant of the Hanta virus is being monitored in Spain. The case involves a woman residing in Catalonia, who has been placed in quarantine as a precautionary measure and is not showing symptoms.
Another woman, hospitalized in Alicante with mild symptoms, has also been isolated.
The incident dates back to the death of a Dutch passenger who left the cruise prematurely after her husband's death on board the "Hondius." After a stop in South Africa with her husband's remains, she attempted to join a flight from Johannesburg to Amsterdam before being removed from the flight due to her rapidly deteriorating health. She passed away shortly after at the hospital.
According to available information, approximately 150 passengers and crew members from 28 countries were initially on board the ship, which departed from Argentina on April 1 and is expected to arrive in the Canary Islands on Sunday.
The Hanta virus is typically transmitted through inhalation of contaminated particles from the feces or saliva of infected rodents. Human-to-human transmission is rare, although the Andean variant detected on the ship may, in exceptional cases, spread between people.
