Hantavirus: First passengers disembark stricken cruise ship

The first plane carrying passengers evacuated from the hantavirus-hit cruise ship departed from Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands on Sunday, headed for a military hospital in Madrid.

Spanish nationals were the first to leave the ship, which was anchored off Tenerife. They will be under quarantine when they reach Madrid, Spanish health authorities say. Only Spanish nationals will quarantine in the country.

The cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions listed 13 Spanish passengers and one Spanish crew member on board.

Nobody among the more than 140 people on the MV Hondius is showing symptoms of the virus, Spain’s health ministry, the World Health Organization and cruise company Oceanwide Expeditions said.

Passengers and some crew members of other nationalities will be evacuated throughout Sunday into Monday.