The government has begun the evacuation of the first passengers from the MV Hondius ship which arrived in Tenerife this morning, ending a journey that started in southern Argentina on 1 April.
A small group of passengers, all Spanish nationals, is now headed to Tenerife’s port of Granadilla, Spain’s health ministry said.
The passengers will be transported directly from the port in military buses to the airport and evacuated by a Spanish government plane to Madrid where they will taken to hospital and quarantined, officials have said.
Passengers are being disembarked from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius. Photograph: AP 