Hantavirus-Hit Cruise Ship Evacuation Begins In Spain As UK Air-Drop Medical Aid To Remote Island

Last Updated:May 10, 2026, 18:00 IST

Occupants of the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius started flying home in carefully coordinated stages after the outbreak triggered global concern.

Evacuation efforts began on Sunday for passengers aboard a cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak, as a major international repatriation operation got underway from Spain’s Canary Islands.

Occupants of the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius started flying home in carefully coordinated stages after the outbreak triggered global concern. Three passengers — a Dutch couple and a German woman — have died, while several others have fallen ill with the rare rodent-borne virus.

Spain leads evacuation of passengers

Passengers wearing protective medical suits were seen disembarking the vessel onto smaller boats before reaching the port of Granadilla in Tenerife. They were then transported in sealed buses under police escort to Tenerife South airport, where they underwent further protective measures before boarding repatriation flights.

Spanish authorities said the evacuation involves nearly 150 passengers and crew, with multiple flights arranged for citizens of different nationalities. The first group, including 14 Spanish nationals, departed for Madrid, where they will undergo quarantine in a military facility.

Further flights are planned for passengers from several countries, including the UK, US, France, and Australia. Health officials have emphasised that all passengers were medically screened and asymptomatic before disembarkation.

The MV Hondius, which departed from Ushuaia, Argentina in April, had earlier stopped in Cape Verde before arriving in Tenerife. The World Health Organization believes initial infections likely occurred before the voyage, followed by limited transmission onboard.

UK troops launch airborne aid mission 

In a separate development, British military personnel carried out a high-risk airborne operation to deliver urgent medical support to a suspected hantavirus patient on Tristan da Cunha, Britain’s most remote overseas territory.

A specialist team from the 16 Air Assault Brigade parachuted from a Royal Air Force A400M aircraft in what officials described as a “daring parachute drop". The island, home to around 220 people, has no airstrip and can only be reached by sea, making emergency access extremely limited.

The operation was launched after UK health authorities confirmed a suspected infection in a British national linked to the cruise ship outbreak. With oxygen supplies running critically low, officials said an air-drop was the only viable option to provide immediate assistance to the island’s small medical team.

The mission involved a long-range flight from the UK to Ascension Island, followed by another extended leg to Tristan da Cunha, carrying medical personnel and emergency oxygen supplies.

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper praised the armed forces for the “extraordinary operation", while confirming that two other British nationals connected to the outbreak had already been evacuated to the Netherlands and South Africa.

(With inputs from agencies)

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