‘Unprecedented’ operation to evacuate cruise ship begins off Tenerife

The British passengers will have to self-isolate for 45 days
Evacuation of passengers on board the hantavirus -struck cruise ship the MV Hondius has begun off island of Tenerife , where the ship has anchored.

Spanish health officials described the situation as “unprecedented” on Sunday morning as it confirmed all passengers remain asymptomatic.

The passengers will board sealed-off buses to the island's main airport, about 10 minutes away, to board repatriation planes for heading to their respective countries.

Spanish nationals will be the first to disembark, with other nationalities ‌to follow in groups, government officials said ‌on Saturday.

The 22 British passengers on board are expected to be flown back to the UK the same day.

It is understood they will be tested on the ship before they disembark and will then be taken directly from the ship to the plane.

The ship’s arrival has been met with protest on the island, as residents fear possible exposure to the virus.

Watch: Hantavirus-struck cruise ship operation is 'unprecedented,' says Spain's health minister
Marine maps show MV Hondius anchored off Tenerife
Inside the military-style Tenerife operation to get passengers off the hantavirus cruise ship
The plan to offload the remaining 147 passengers and crew on board MV Hondius travelling from Cape Verde to Tenerife has been planned down to the last minute and is also racing against the weather, reports Renée Boskaljon in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria.

Inside the military-style Tenerife operation to evacuate the hantavirus cruise ship
Evacuation of passengers begins, Spanish health ministry says
Spain has begun the evacuation process of passengers from the hantavirus-hit cruise ship anchored near Tenerife ⁠on Sunday, with health officials boarding the boat to conduct a final check and begin disembarking passengers, Spain's health ministry said.

Spanish nationals will be the first to disembark on small boats in groups of five and taken to shore where they will be transferred onto buses and taken to the local airport.

The passengers will board a ⁠flight back to Madrid on a Spanish military plane, ​government ⁠officials said, emphasising that they will have no contact with members of the public.

All passengers on the luxury cruise ‌ship MV Hondius are considered high-risk contacts as a precautionary measure, Europe's public health agency said late on Saturday as part of its rapid scientific advice, adding that the risk to the general population ‌remains low.

In pictures: Guards in PPE await passengers
Spanish health minister says operation is 'unprecedented'
Health minister Monica Garcia is now giving an update to the press.

She says this is an “unprecedented operation” involving 23 countries.

Ms Garcia said all passengers remain asymptomatic and that the operation is continuing as planned.

Health officials board boat to carry out assessments
Health officials have boarded the MV Hondius to carry out epidemiological assessments, Spanish authorities have said.

It added health minister Monica Garcia will give a statement shortly alongside the minister of the interior and the minister of territorial policy.

Authorities meet to coordinate disembarkation
Authorities are convening to oversee the disembarkation of passengers on board the MV Hondius.

The Spanish emergency services posted pictures of the ministers of interior and the director-general of the World Health Organisation meeting ahead of passengers leaving the ship this morning.

Why have residents objected to the MV Hondius docking in Tenerife?

Since news broke of a suspected hantavirus outbreak on board the MV Hondius, the luxury cruise ship has struggled to find somewhere to dock.

The ship was near Cape Verde when a number of individuals on board became ill.

But the country’s authorities refused to let the ship dock there, forcing medical evacuations of three passengers to the Netherlands.

A row later broke out between the Spanish government, who granted permission for the ship to dock in the Canary Islands, and the regional leader of the islands, who residents had not been sufficiently reassured to allow the cruise ship to dock there.

On Friday, some Tenerife dock workers gathered outside the Canary Islands' parliament building to protest that the imminent arrival could pose a health risk for them.

The MV Hondius has now arrived in Tenerife but will not dock in the port.

Instead, it will remain at anchor with passengers transported to land on ferries.

Specialist British Army team parachutes onto remote island after suspected hantavirus case
A specialist Army team has parachuted on to the British overseas territory Tristan da Cunha with medical personnel and equipment, the Ministry of Defence has said.

The UK Health Security Agency confirmed on Friday that a British national disembarked from the MV Hondius on to the island with a suspected case of hantavirus.

Six paratroopers and two military clinicians from 16 Air Assault Brigade parachuted from an RAF A400M transport aircraft, while oxygen supplies and medical aid was dropped on to the remote island.

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