Tenerife/Geneva: The MV Hondius, linked to a hantavirus outbreak that has claimed three lives, arrived at the Port of Granadilla in Tenerife on Sunday as international health authorities coordinated the safe evacuation and repatriation of passengers.
According to CNN, medical teams, WHO officials and emergency personnel gathered at the port as the vessel anchored off Tenerife at sunrise. People in hazmat suits and small emergency boats were seen near the dock during preparations for the controlled disembarkation.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed the ship’s arrival on X, saying authorities were coordinating the next steps for the safe disembarkment of passengers.
Spain’s Health Minister Monica Garcia said medical teams boarded the ship before evacuation began to conduct health checks on passengers and crew.
The outbreak aboard the vessel has been linked to hantavirus, a rare disease usually spread through contact with infected rodents or their droppings. WHO said eight hantavirus cases, including three deaths, had been reported as of May 8, with six laboratory-confirmed as Andes virus infections.
WHO official Maria Van Kerkhove said all passengers and crew aboard the ship should be treated as “high-risk” contacts and actively monitored for 42 days, though she stressed that the risk to the public in the Canary Islands remained low.
According to tour operator Oceanwide Expeditions, passengers will be brought ashore in small groups and repatriated according to nationality and flight schedules. Countries including the United States, Germany, France, Belgium, Ireland and the Netherlands are arranging flights for their citizens.
A US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official told CNN that 17 American passengers, none showing symptoms, would be taken to the University of Nebraska Medical Center for assessment and home monitoring.
Spanish authorities said the first group to disembark would be 14 Spanish passengers, who would be transferred to a military hospital for isolation and PCR testing.
The ship’s arrival had earlier sparked concern in the Canary Islands, with regional leader Fernando Clavijo opposing permission for the vessel to dock and port workers protesting over alleged lack of communication about possible health risks. After the evacuation process, the MV Hondius is expected to continue to Rotterdam in the Netherlands for crew disembarkation and disinfection procedures. (IANS)/ANI)
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