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

The first plane carrying passengers evacuated from the Hantavirus-hit cruise ship MV Hondius has departed from Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands for the Spanish capital. TENERIFE, Spain — The first plane carrying passengers from the Hantavirus-hit cruise ship left Spain's Canary Islands on Sunday for Madrid, where they will be taken 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. After reaching Madrid, those evacuated on the first plane will be under quarantine, Spanish health authorities say. Authorities have said the passengers and crew members disembarking will be checked for symptoms, have no contact with the local population and will be taken off the ship only once evacuation flights are ready to.

But the Andes virus detected in the cruise ship outbreak may be able to spread between people in rare cases. 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. 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 more than 20 nationalities on board will be evacuated throughout Sunday into Monday. Only the 14 Spanish nationals on board will quarantine in the country.

None of the more than 140 people on the Hondius has shown symptoms of the virus, Spain's Health Ministry, the World Health Organization and cruise company Oceanwide Expeditions said. Spanish Health Minister Mónica García said the operation was proceeding as expected. Hantavirus usually spreads when people inhale contaminated residue of rodent droppings and isn't easily transmitted between people. Norway has sent an ambulance plane to Tenerife with personnel trained to transport patients with high-risk infections, its Directorate for Civil Protection told public broadcaster NRK. Spanish nationals were the first to leave the MV Hondius, which remains anchored off Tenerife, the largest island in the Spanish archipelago off West Africa's coast.

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 such as New Zealand, García said. Passengers and crew members disembarking are leaving behind their luggage and are allowed to take only a small bag with essential items, a cellphone, a charger and documentation. Some crew members, 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. The United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands will send planes to.