May 10, 2026, 6:05 p.mMay 10, 2026, 6:05 p.m
Passengers of the “Hondius” on the way to Tenerife airport.Image: keystone
The evacuation of people on board the cruise ship “Hondius” affected by a hantavirus outbreak began in Tenerife under the strictest security precautions and without any problems. The first passengers were brought ashore in small groups in boats, then driven to the nearby Tenerife Sur airport and flown out.
First, the 14 Spanish citizens on board were disembarked, including 13 passengers and one crew member. They wore protective clothing and masks and were taken to the airport in two buses from the Military Emergency Relief Unit (UME). From there their plane took off for Madrid. In the Spanish capital they will be quarantined in a military hospital together with an expert from the World Health Organization (WHO).
The Federal Office of Public Health (BAG) in Switzerland knew nothing about the remaining Swiss passengers. A Swiss crew member has to go into quarantine. This is likely to last six weeks, as the BAG announced. He has no symptoms and is in good spirits given the circumstances.
Before disembarkation began, doctors went on board to carry out an epidemiological investigation. The good news of the day: All passengers and crew members were without any symptoms of illness, Spanish Health Minister Mónica García told journalists at the port. There were a total of 140 to 150 passengers, crew members and accompanying experts from 23 countries on the cruise ship.
Netherlands takes responsibility
The Netherlands is responsible for transporting the affected Germans. Four German passengers are to be taken to Frankfurt after their arrival at the airport in Eindhoven, Netherlands, as the German Press Agency (dpa) learned. Emergency services from the Essen fire department and the Frankfurt fire department were called in for the transport.
The Germans, French, British, Americans and those affected by other nationalities come after the Spanish. In addition to Dutch people, the Netherlands would also be taking “citizens from Germany, Belgium and Greece as well as part of the crew” on their plane, García revealed.
Evacuation before dark
Most passengers and crew members were expected to be evacuated before nightfall on Sunday. Aircraft from Spain, the Netherlands, the USA, Great Britain, France, Turkey, Ireland and, as part of the EU disaster protection mechanism, also a plane from Norway would be used.
The last flight with six people is planned for Monday to Australia, explained Minister García. “As everyone can see, the evacuation measures are working smoothly.”
Pictures showed how the affected Spaniards in white protective suits were sprayed with disinfectant, among other things, by emergency services with masks and in orange full protective suits at the airport and given information sheets before they boarded the plane that would take them to Madrid. According to Minister García, all passengers and crew members are only allowed to take light hand luggage.
Six confirmed hantavirus cases
According to the latest information from the WHO, there are six confirmed cases of hantavirus and two suspected cases. Three of these eight people have died. They are an older couple from the Netherlands and a woman from Germany. The WHO suspects that the chain of infection started from the Dutch couple, who may have become infected on land before embarking in Argentina.
Health Minister García, the Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska and the head of the WHO came to the island specifically to monitor the complicated operation. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus assured that the hantavirus is not a pathogen comparable to the coronavirus. In a message directly to the people of Tenerife, he emphasized: “This is not a new Covid.” The risk for the people on the island is low – especially since no new suspected cases have occurred on the cruise ship.
Pope Leo XIV thanked the people of the Canary Islands for allowing the cruise ship “Hondius” to dock there with the sick. He is looking forward to his visit to the islands next month, said the Pope, who spoke at the “Regina Caeli” prayer in Rome.
Initially it was said that the ship would anchor in front of the port for safety reasons and also due to the island government’s concerns. The Spanish merchant navy gave permission to enter the harbor that night. The ship is now at anchor there before it continues to the Netherlands with part of the crew.
What happens after evacuation?
After the arrival of the WHO and other authorities, all those who have been flown out will probably have to be quarantined after their arrival in their respective home countries, as an all-clear is only possible after weeks due to the long incubation period. The BAG assumed on Sunday that the Swiss crew member would not return to Switzerland before the end of the quarantine period.
As soon as the people are off board, the “Hondius” should immediately continue its journey with part of the crew and head towards the Netherlands, whose flag it sails under. Only there should the body of a German who died on board be taken off the ship. The ship is also disinfected in the Netherlands.
Virus outbreak sparks international concern
Hantavirus is usually transmitted by rodents, but can also spread from person to person through close contact. The outbreak of the South American Andes variant of the virus on the small cruise ship caused concern worldwide – also and especially because of the memory of the corona pandemic. In the Canary Islands in particular, people expressed fear about possible infection with the potentially deadly virus.
But the current case is different than the beginning of the corona pandemic more than six years ago. Even if the Andes virus were to be transmitted by evacuated ship passengers, the virus would not be easily transmittable, according to the EU health authority ECDC, “so it is unlikely that there would be many cases of infection or a large-scale outbreak in the population.”
The risk to the general population in the EU from the spread of the Andes virus is “very low”. Since a total of more than 30 passengers and crew members disembarked during the ship’s stopovers, a global search is now underway for potential suspected cases.
The Spanish health system was the deciding factor
The WHO had asked Spain to allow people to disembark in the Canary Islands, off Africa’s west coast, because the archipelago was the first potential destination on the ship’s route with world-class health care. Cape Verde, where the “Hondius” was last anchored, did not want to accept the passengers, citing the inadequate supply options there.
The “Hondius” began its journey through the South Atlantic on April 1st from Ushuaia in the south of Argentina. Ten days later, a Dutchman died, his wife left the ship during a stopover in St. Helena and flew to South Africa on April 24th, where she died shortly afterwards in a hospital. According to the ship operator Oceanwide, the third person – the German – finally died on May 3rd. (sda/dpa)