Spain starts evacuating virus-hit cruise ship in Tenerife

The MV Hondius cruise ship, which has been at sea for nearly a month following a deadly hantavirus outbreak, is preparing to dock in Tenerife's port of Granadilla to allow over 100 passengers and crew to disembark and be repatriated. Spanish authorities have implemented extensive security measures involving 23 countries, including a one-nautical-mile exclusion zone around the ship and medical screening teams, as Spain's health minister describes the operation as "unprecedented" while emphasizing the low contagion risk to the general population. Medical teams will board the ship to check passengers for symptoms of the rare Andes strain virus, though current reports indicate no new cases, before passengers are transported to shore organized by nationality.