Tenerife, May 10 (IANS) The first plane carrying Spanish passengers evacuated from the Hantavirus-hit cruise ship MV Hondius departed from Spain’s Canary Islands for Madrid on Sunday.

Buses operated by Spain’s Military Emergencies Unit transported the evacuees directly from the Port of Granadilla to the runway of Tenerife South Airport under the escort of the Spanish Civil Guard.

Under Spain’s emergency deployment plan, the country’s Military Emergencies Unit dispatched buses equipped with sanitary protection measures to assist with the transfers, while the Civil Guard participated in on-site security and coordination efforts.

Health authorities, emergency services and police forces from the Canary Islands also took part in the joint operation.

The group, consisting of 14 Spanish nationals — 13 passengers and one crew member — were the first to disembark from the vessel. They are being transferred to the Torrejon de Ardoz air base near Madrid before completing isolation procedures at the Gomez Ulla Central Defence Hospital, according to Spanish authorities as reported by Xinhua news agency.

Spanish Health Minister Monica Garcia said the operation was going on under “all necessary safety measures.”

She also confirmed that all remaining passengers onboard the cruise ship remain asymptomatic.

The final repatriation flight is expected to depart on Monday and will transport Australian citizens.

The Netherlands is also expected to send what Spanish media described as a “sweep flight” on Monday afternoon to collect passengers who have not been repatriated by their respective countries.

On Saturday, World Health Organisation (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reassured residents on the Spanish island of Tenerife that the public health risk remained low as the cruise ship MV Hondius approached the Canary Islands following a hantavirus outbreak onboard.

In an open letter to Canary Islands residents, Tedros acknowledged local concerns but stressed, “This is not another COVID.”

“The current public health risk from hantavirus remains low,” he said, adding that WHO experts and medical supplies were already onboard the vessel.

–IANS

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