European Countries Prepare Evacuation Flights After Hantavirus Outbreak on Cruise Ship

Spain’s Interior Minister said Saturday that Germany, France, Belgium, Ireland, and the Netherlands will send evacuation flights for their citizens aboard a cruise ship affected by a hantavirus outbreak and heading toward Spain’s Canary Islands.

The European Union will also dispatch two additional aircraft to transport other European passengers, while the United States and the United Kingdom are coordinating emergency plans for non-EU nationals whose countries cannot provide evacuation flights.

The ship is expected to arrive near Tenerife in the Canary Islands on May 9.