Hantavirus ship will dock at Granadilla in Tenerife: Spanish minister

A cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak will dock "within three days" at Granadilla on the island of Tenerife, Spain’s health minister said Wednesday, despite opposition from the Canary Islands regional government.

"A joint system for health assessment and evacuation will be put in place to repatriate all passengers, unless their medical condition prevents it," Health Minister Monica Garcia Gomez told a Madrid news conference.

The 14 Spanish nationals -- including one crew member -- on board the MV Hondius will be transferred to Madrid’s Gomez Ulla Military Hospital, she added.

García said the government was monitoring the international alert "minute by minute" to take all steps to prevent any potential spread of the virus.

Earlier, the head of the Canary Islands government, Fernando Clavijo, opposed any evacuation of patients onto the archipelago, citing a "total lack of information" from the central government. But García said she had been in "constant contact" with Clavijo and he would take part in all meetings.

A source close to the Canary Islands presidency earlier told AFP that a medical evacuation flight planned to transfer a doctor from the ship to the archipelago had been cancelled, without giving a reason.

The director-general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, later said three suspected cases, including the doctor, had been evacuated from the vessel and were en route to the Netherlands for treatment.

The MV Hondius has been at the centre of an international alert since Saturday, when the WHO was informed that three passengers had died and the suspected cause was hantavirus.

The Dutch-flagged ship left Ushuaia in Argentina on April 1 on a voyage through the Atlantic Ocean. It has been anchored off Cape Verde since Sunday.

There were 88 passengers and 59 crew, with 23 nationalities, onboard, the WHO said.

 Earlier, The owner of a cruise ship stricken by a deadly hantavirus outbreak has requested to dock Saturday in Tenerife, the largest of Spain's Canary Islands, the head of the archipelago's regional government said.

"The shipowner -- and this is a request that is currently being considered -- has asked to dock on the 9th, to berth in a port in Tenerife," Fernando Clavijo told reporters in Brussels, adding he had been notified of the request by the port authority.

Air ambulances for suspected hantavirus patients leave Cape Verde: AFP

Two air ambulances sent to retrieve three people believed infected with hantavirus on a cruise ship off Cape Verde left the archipelago nation's airport on Wednesday, an AFP journalist witnessed.

The three were evacuated from the boat earlier, according to WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who said they were being taken to the Netherlands.

The two airplanes left one after the other, the first and larger headed to the Netherlands, according to flight tracker Flightradar24. Landing is scheduled for around 7:30 pm local time (1730 GMT).

The MV Hondius cruise ship has been at the centre of an international alert since Saturday, when the WHO was informed that three passengers had died and the suspected cause was hantavirus.

The Dutch-flagged ship set sail from Ushuaia in Argentina on April 1 on a voyage through the Atlantic Ocean. It has been anchored off Cape Verde since Sunday.

It counted 88 passengers and 59 crew members, with 23 nationalities onboard, the WHO said.