Cruise Ship with Hantavirus Deaths Docks in Tenerife for Passenger Evacuation

The cruise ship MV Hondius arrived early Sunday off the Spanish island of Tenerife, where officials expect to begin evacuating passengers linked to a deadly Hantavirus outbreak.

Passengers will undergo testing by Spanish health authorities to confirm they show no symptoms before heading ashore in small boats, Spanish officials said, according to Reuters. Evacuation should start between 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. local time. Spanish nationals will leave first, followed by passengers of other nationalities, Reuters reported.

Authorities plan to bus them to the island's main airport for flights home. Multiple Americans are aboard the ship. The U.S. government intends to transfer American passengers to a military base in Nebraska for quarantine and monitoring, Fox News Digital reported earlier.

The ship sailed from the Cape Verde coast toward Spain on Wednesday after the World Health Organization and European Union requested help managing the outbreak.

Its arrival came hours after WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reached Tenerife. The WHO said Friday that eight people aboard had fallen ill, with three deaths. Officials confirmed six cases and suspect two more.

In a statement Saturday, Ghebreyesus said the public health risk remains low. "I know you are worried. I know that when you hear the word 'outbreak' and watch a ship sail toward your shores, memories surface that none of us have fully put to rest," he said. "The pain of 2020 is still real, and I do not dismiss it for a single moment. But I need you to hear me clearly: this is not another COVID-19. The current public health risk from Hantavirus remains low. My colleagues and I have said this unequivocally, and I will say it again to you now."

Ghebreyesus noted the virus is the Andes strain of Hantavirus, which can be severe. "Three people have lost their lives, and our hearts go out to their families," he wrote, adding that the public health risk remains low.

About 30 crew members will stay aboard as the vessel heads to the Netherlands for disinfection.