The hantavirus-stricken HV Hondius anchored in Spain Sunday morning after the outbreak on the ship left three travelers dead and sparked global concern over a possible wider spread of the rodent-borne illness.

The plagued Dutch cruise ship reached Tenerife – the Canary Islands’ largest island – around 6:30 a.m local time as more than 140 passengers and crew started to disembark from the vessel.

“All the passengers remain asymptomatic,” Spain’s Health Minister Monica Garcia said during a Sunday morning news conference. “The entire operation is proceeding normally.”

Passengers, who will be required to leave their belongings on the ship, will undergo health screenings to check for symptoms before disembarking in small groups of five to 10.

The cruise ship MV Hondius arrives at the port of Granadilla de Abona after being affected by a hantavirus outbreak, in Tenerife, Spain, May 10, 2026.REUTERS
Spanish passengers – 13 vacationers and one crew member – were the first to leave the cruise ship in a small boat around 9:30 a.m.

The passengers wore blue gowns, surgical caps, white masks and carried their belongings in plastic bags as hazmat-suited emergency crews escorted them by bus from the ship to evacuation flights at Tenerife Airport

They will be flown to a Madrid military hospital, where they will be quarantined in single rooms under strict supervision, the Spanish Health Ministry said.

Spanish health authorities said the operation was specifically designed to prevent any contact between passengers and the local population.

Fears among locals have surged in recent days ahead of the doomed ship’s arrival, but World Health Organization officials said the public risk is low and they’re closely monitoring the situation.

Seventeen American travelers will fly back to the US on a repatriation flight and be taken to the National Quarantine Unit in Nebraska for assessment and quarantine, the US State Department said.

Passengers are being disembarked from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain on May 10, 2026.AP
The UK will also send a plane to evacuate its citizens, who will all be required to isolate for 45 days upon return.

The weeks-long Atlantic cruise – which departed from Argentina on March 20 – spiraled into a nightmare when an elderly Dutch couple carried the rare Andes strain of the virus after contracting it in Argentina last month.

The husband died aboard the expedition vessel; his wife came down with symptoms after getting off on the island of St. Helena and flying to South Africa, where she died.

A person wearing a mask stands aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius.REUTERS

Passengers carry their belongings in plastic bags after being evacuated from the MV Hondius.Getty Images
Another passenger – a German national – also died.

Three suspected patients, a German, Dutch and British national, were evacuated to the Netherlands for medical care, the WHO said, while Switzerland confirmed a former passenger tested positive for the virus after showing symptoms.

Twenty-three others left the ship and scattered back home across the globe before realizing they had been exposed to the deadly virus — which has a mortality rate of up to 40% — on April 23.

Passengers stand next to a Spanish government plane after disembarking from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius at the airport in Tenerife.AP

The weeks-long Atlantic cruise – which departed from Argentina on March 20 – spiraled into a nightmare when an elderly Dutch couple carried the rare Andes strain of the virus.Anadolu via Getty Images
Only one is known to have fallen ill so far.

US officials are also monitoring former travelers in Georgia, California, and Arizona.

The remaining passengers were stranded aboard, answering questions from health workers and waiting to see if they show symptoms, which can take up to eight weeks to appear.

An evacuation operation of suspected hantavirus patients, following an outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius, in Praia, Cape Verde, May 6, 2026.via REUTERS
Hantavirus attacks the lungs and slowly suffocates its victims. It is normally transmitted via rodent feces, but the Andes strain can jump from human to human.

The infection usually spreads through prolonged, close contact and isn’t nearly as contagious as diseases like COVID-19.

Passengers stand on the deck of the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius after its arrival at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain on May 10, 2026.AP
Hantavirus manifests as a severe flu, with survivors describing the grueling disease as “torture.”

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared a “Level 3” alert over the outbreak and has cautioned that the threat to the public remains minimal.

The weeks-long Atlantic cruise departed from Argentina on March 20AP
A Level 3 threat is the CDC’s lowest emergency level, used to bring in experts to monitor the situation and prepare a response if necessary.