The passengers of the “Hondius” leave the ship and are flown into quarantine. Meanwhile, skydivers are landing at another location – also because of the hantavirus outbreak.
May 10, 2026, 1:37 p.mMay 10, 2026, 1:47 p.m
Matti Hartmann / t-online
While the evacuation of the “Hondius” is underway off Tenerife, Great Britain is sending parachutists to one of the most remote places in the world: helpers jumped out of a plane over the island of Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic, as the British Ministry of Defense announced on Sunday.
Parachutists on the way: Only 221 residents live on Tristan da Cunha.Image: British Ministry of Defense
The British health authority UKHSA had previously reported a suspected case on the island. According to the ministry, it is a passenger on the “Hondius” who lives on the island and is said to have disembarked there.
The island of Tristan da Cunha is the most remote British overseas territory and can usually only be reached by boat. It only has 221 residents and no airstrip. The British Army special team that landed on the island consists of six paratroopers and two medics. Oxygen supplies and other medical supplies were also dropped.
Hantavirus fear on a deserted island: 10,000 kilometer flight
“Since oxygen supplies on the island were critically low, a drop was the only way to provide the patient with timely life-saving assistance,” the army said.
This is the first mission of this kind: the A400 transport aircraft used initially traveled 6,788 kilometers from RAF Brize Norton military airport near Oxford to Ascension Island, which lies in the middle of the Atlantic and, together with Tristan da Cunha and St. Helena, forms a British overseas territory. Then we went more than 3,000 kilometers to Tristan da Cunha, which is even further south. A Voyager aircraft accompanied the machine in the air for a refueling operation.
Evacuation of the “Hondius”: First the Spaniards left the ship
Meanwhile, rescue workers are preparing for the return of “Hondius” passengers to Germany. The cruise ship entered the port of Granadilla in the south of the Spanish holiday island of Tenerife in the morning. Doctors examined the passengers on board for acute symptoms of illness. The evacuation began in the morning: First, the 14 Spaniards were brought ashore in small groups by boat. According to the Spanish Ministry of Health, there are 13 passengers and one member of the crew.
The passengers are brought ashore in small boats.Image: keystone
Pictures showed these people in the boats wearing protective clothing and masks. Once on land, they boarded buses from the Military Emergency Relief Unit (UME) to be taken to the airport. Together with an expert from the World Health Organization (WHO), this group is to be flown to Madrid and quarantined in a military hospital there.
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