EINDHOVEN, Netherlands – The final pair of evacuation flights carrying people pulled from the hantavirus-outbreak cruise ship MV Hondius have touched down on Dutch soil, according to on-the-ground reporting from Agence France-Presse. In total, 28 evacuees – encompassing passengers, crew members and responding medical personnel – were aboard the two aircraft, confirmed by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The first jet to land carried six former passengers of the expedition vessel. Of that group, four hold Australian citizenship, one is from New Zealand, and the sixth is a British national who resides in Australia. Following disembarkation, these six travelers will enter a government-run quarantine facility located near Eindhoven Airport before they are arranged for repatriation back to Australia. Photographs and witness accounts show the group stepping off the air ambulance clad in full white protective medical overalls and face coverings, holding small white bags holding their personal items, before being escorted into the airport terminal for processing.
The second flight carried the remaining evacuated personnel: 19 crew members from the ship, one British physician, and two leading epidemiologists – one deployed by the World Health Organization, and the second from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Unlike the quarantined passengers, this group disembarked without full protective gear, though all kept their face masks in place while carrying larger white sacks of their personal belongings off the plane.
While the evacuation of most personnel is now complete, the MV Hondius itself is currently en route across the Atlantic from Tenerife, Spain, to Rotterdam, the Netherlands, where it will undergo a full professional disinfection once docked. As of a statement released by the ship’s operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, on Monday, 25 crew members and two attending medical staff remain on board the vessel during its voyage to Rotterdam. The ship is also transporting the remains of a German passenger who died after contracting the virus during the expedition.