Health minister Mark Butler says six passengers who have tested negative for hantavirus will land in Western Australia on Friday

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Four Australian citizens who were aboard the MV Hondius, the cruise ship at the centre of the hantavirus outbreak, will soon be home after the government secured a suitable aircraft and crew for the journey.

The health minister, Mark Butler, said the citizens, along with a permanent resident and a New Zealand citizen, were due to take off from the Netherlands on Thursday evening local time and would land in Perth on Friday afternoon.