90-Second Read: Plane carrying Spanish passengers from Hantavirus-stricken MV Hondius cruise ship leaves for Madrid

Passengers have started disembarking from the Hantavirus-hit cruise ship anchored off Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands. TENERIFE, Canary Islands (AP) — The first plane carrying passengers evacuated from the Hantavirus-hit cruise ship departed from Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands on Sunday for Madrid, where they will go to a military hospital. Three people have died since the outbreak, and five passengers who left the ship are infected with Hantavirus, which can cause life-threatening illness. Spanish nationals were the first to leave the MV Hondius, which remains anchored off Tenerife after arriving hours earlier, and they will be under quarantine after they reach Madrid, Spanish health authorities say. 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 Hondius is showing symptoms of the virus, Spain's health ministry, the World Health Organization and cruise company Oceanwide Expeditions said. But the Andes virus detected in the cruise ship outbreak may be able to spread between people in rare cases. Meanwhile, a Spanish woman in the southeastern province of Alicante suspected of being infected tested negative for Hantavirus, Spanish health authorities said Saturday. Passengers and some crew members of other nationalities will be evacuated throughout Sunday into Monday. The cruise ship reached Tenerife early Sunday morning, after leaving Cape Verde on May 6.

Hantavirus usually spreads when people inhale contaminated residue of rodent droppings and isn't easily transmitted between people. Some crew, as well as the body of a passenger who died on board, will remain on the ship, which will sail on to Rotterdam, Netherlands where it will undergo disinfection, Spanish authorities said. Norway has sent an ambulance plane to Tenerife with personnel trained for the transport of patients with high-risk infections, its Directorate for Civil Protection told public broadcaster NRK. British Army medics have parachuted onto the remote south Atlantic territory of Tristan da Cunha, where one of the 221 residents has a suspected case of Hantavirus. Everyone disembarking will be checked for symptoms, and are being taken off the ship only once evacuation flights are ready to fly them to.

Five French passengers will be repatriated Sunday, and will be hospitalized for 72 hours for monitoring, after which they will quarantine at home for 45 days, France's Foreign Ministry said. Australia is sending a plane expected to arrive Monday to evacuate its nationals and those from nearby countries like New Zealand, García said. Authorities have said the passengers and crew members who will disembark will have no contact with the local population. Passengers and crew members disembarking are leaving behind their luggage, and are allowed to take only a small bag with essential items, a cellphone, charger and documentation. The expected sailing time to Rotterdam is around five days, the cruise company said.