The suspected victim was wheeled across the runway in a full-body hazmat suit, surrounded by medics in protective gear — as terrified passengers watched from the decks of the stricken cruise ship stranded off the coast of West Africa.

In chilling scenes resembling the opening moments of a disaster film, a suspected hantavirus patient was dramatically evacuated from the Dutch luxury vessel MV Hondius on Wednesday after an outbreak linked to the deadly infection left three people dead and nearly 150 others trapped at sea.

Photographs from the emergency operation showed medical crews in head-to-toe protective suits carefully transferring one patient on a gurney from a small ambulance boat to a waiting aircraft in Cape Verde’s capital, Praia. Nearby, police officers wearing white hazmat suits guarded the dock as frightened passengers looked on from the cruise ship’s railings, many still uncertain whether they may also have been exposed.

The three evacuated patients — believed to be infected with hantavirus — include a 56-year-old British passenger, a 41-year-old Dutch national and a 65-year-old German traveler, according to health officials. One of the patients is reportedly the ship’s doctor, who had earlier been described as being in serious condition before later showing signs of improvement.

The outbreak has triggered growing international concern after a former passenger who had already returned home tested positive in Switzerland, raising fears the virus may have quietly spread across multiple countries before authorities fully understood the scale of the crisis.

The MV Hondius had departed Argentina on March 29 for what was supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime expedition voyage. Instead, passengers now find themselves caught inside an escalating health emergency while the ship remains isolated off the coast of Cape Verde.

Spanish authorities confirmed that the vessel is expected to continue toward Tenerife in the Canary Islands, where passengers will finally be allowed to disembark after days of uncertainty. Non-Spanish nationals are expected to be immediately repatriated to their home countries, while 14 Spanish passengers will reportedly be flown directly to a Madrid hospital for monitoring and isolation.

So far, officials insist the remaining passengers and crew are not showing symptoms. But behind the reassurances, questions are rapidly mounting over how the outbreak began, whether warning signs were missed, and how many more people may have unknowingly carried the virus back home.

Three deaths linked to the outbreak have already been confirmed — including a Dutch couple and a German national — while another British passenger previously evacuated from the ship remains in intensive care in South Africa.

Hantavirus is typically spread through exposure to infected rodent droppings, though health officials acknowledge rare cases of person-to-person transmission have been documented. The World Health Organization says it is continuing to monitor the situation closely alongside national governments and the ship’s operators.

But as haunting images of masked medics, sealed stretchers and stranded passengers continue to circulate worldwide, many fear the full story of what unfolded aboard the MV Hondius may still be far from over.