Brit passengers evacuated from rat virus dying ship again in UK as they wave from coach
A Titan Airways flight carrying 20 passengers rescued from cruise ship MV Hondius depart the Canary Islands bound for isolation unit in Merseyside following ‘unprecedented’ evacuation
Passengers were seen waving from the windows as they were transported(Image: Getty Images)
British passengers from the death ship at the centre of the rat virus outbreak are back in the UK with photos showing them waving and smiling in a coach before they took off.
A Titan Airways flight carrying 20 passengers rescued from MV Hondius departed the Canary Islands for Manchester airport at 5.10pm and landed a few hours later. They were taken for testing at an isolation unit at Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside.
The cruise ship, which had been stranded in Cape Verde after the deaths of three passengers from rat-transmitted hantavirus, anchored off Granadilla port in Tenerife at 6am yesterday. The Spanish government abandoned plans to dock the vessel after objections from the Canary Islands. Instead passengers were ferried ashore by a small boat.
Canary Islands president Fernando Clavijo had reportedly argued that rats could spread the virus by swimming to shore in a leaked WhatsApp message to Spain’s health minister Mónica García.
He also said he was not satisfied the government’s operation would guarantee the territory’s safety. A police helicopter circled over the port when the ship arrived.
Two military buses with plastic coverings on seats were seen entering the sealed-off dockside to ferry passengers to the airport.
Health workers in biohazard suits waited to greet the evacuees. A team of Spanish health officials boarded the ship to inspect the 147 people on board for symptoms.
Ms García said the evacuation was ‘unprecedented’ and none of the passengers on board displayed symptoms.
Passengers taken ashore wearing face masks and blue protective coverings could be seen taking photographs of each other to mark the end of the traumatic voyage.
Six planes, including one chartered by the UK Government, were waiting at the island’s airport.
Other aircraft repatriated passengers to mainland Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Greece, New Zealand and Asia.
Tenerife locals had objected to the ship’s arrival at the island following the deaths from the virus which can transfer to humans through contaminated rat urine, droppings and saliva. Symptoms include fever, headaches, backache, diarrhoea and vomiting.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organisation, wrote an open letter to islanders urging them not to panic.
Overseeing the evacuation he said: “Concern is legitimate, especially after the experience we all had of Covid.
“But this disease is not another Covid, and we don’t say that lightly. My message to the local population is that the risk is low.”
Some 30 crew members and a nurse – as well as the body of a passenger who died on board – will remain on the ship which will sail on to the Dutch port of Rotterdam where it will be disinfected.
Brit emergency services said they expected evacuated passengers will be kept in the Arrowe Park Hospital isolation unit for up to 72 hours.
They said the hospital was ‘operating as normal’ with no risk to patients, visitors or staff and ‘people should continue to come forward for care as usual’.
Following their isolation, public health specialists will assess whether passengers can isolate at home or elsewhere depending on their living arrangements. All must self-isolate for 45 days. According to the World Health Organisation a total of eight cases – including three deaths – had been reported.
One previous suspected case had been reclassified after testing negative for hantavirus. The UK Health Security Agency said three Brit nationals were included in the eight – two who definitely have the virus and a third who is suspected of infection.
The two confirmed Brit cases are in hospital in South Africa and the Netherlands.
The third UK national with a suspected case is being supported on the British overseas territory of Tristan da Cunha where they live.
Professor Robin May, chief scientific officer of the UK Health Security Agency, said: “We continue to work at pace with our international partners to ensure the safe repatriation of British nationals from the MV Hondius.
“The safety and well-being of those on board remains our number one priority.
“Established infection control measures will be in place at every step of the journey and passengers will receive full support throughout, including during their period of isolation.
“We recognise that this has been an incredibly difficult and unsettling time for those affected and their loved ones at home.”
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