The hantavirus-hit MV Hondius departed the Spanish island of Tenerife for the Netherlands on Monday as the last six passengers and some crew members were evacuated from the luxury cruise ship.The polar expedition ship carrying the remaining passengers -- four Australians, one Briton who lives in Australia and a New Zealander -- docked briefly at the port of Granadilla de Abona, allowing them, 19 crew and two doctors to disembark. It then sailed on for the Netherlands with 25 crew as well as a doctor and a nurse.
The passengers and staff evacuated in Tenerife boarded buses that took them to the local airport where they were transferred to two airplanes bound for the Netherlands, the Dutch Foreign Ministry said.
"Mission accomplished; we've just wrapped up the operation and the ship has just set sail," Spanish Health Minister Monica Garcia said.
The crew will complete their quarantine in the Netherlands, the Dutch Foreign Ministry said. The plane carrying the passengers will continue to Australia and it was up to the Australian government to determine where they would quarantine, Garcia said.
The disembarkation caps a complex operation that has so far resulted in 94 people being evacuated and repatriated to their countries of residence, 41 days after the MV Hondius set off from southern Argentina and nine days after the first positive test result for the respiratory viral infection.
