Moment hantavirus captain tells passengers cruise is ‘not infectious’

The captain of a cruise ship where three people died after hantavirus broke out told passengers there was ‘nothing infectious’ involving the first death.

Footage shows passengers gathered in a seating area when the captain of MV Hondius says a Dutch man has died from ‘natural causes’ as they sailed through the Atlantic Ocean.

But both he and his wife, both 69, had developed the rat virus and brought it aboard the ship after visiting the city of Ushuaia, Argentina.

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The captain said: ‘One of our passengers sadly passed away last night. Tragic as it is, we believe it is from natural causes.

‘I am told by the doctor it is not infectious, so the ship is safe when it comes to that.

‘It happens at sea sometimes. Very sad, very tragic.’

He added that as we were in the middle of the Atlantic, they were ‘only a few places they could go to’.

One of the crew mates added ‘the gentleman got sick’ a few days before he passed, with his wife still on board.

The pair, from Denmark, are believed to have visited a landfill site during the birdwatching trip and may have been exposed to rodents carrying the deadly infection.

The husband died on April 11 after suffering with flu symptoms for five days, and his body went ashore at Saint Helena on April 24 alongside his wife.

His wife then fell ill and died in Johannesburg on April 26. A German national also died on the ship on May 2.

One passenger, Cenet, accused the ship of not taking the outbreak seriously enough.

He said: ‘They didn’t even consider the possibility of having such a contagious disease.

‘They didn’t take the problem seriously enough.’

The family of the couple at the centre of the outbreak said: ‘We cannot yet comprehend that we have to miss them. We want to bring them home in peace and remember them.’

A British crew member who was evacuated from the ship and has symptoms of the virus has been named as Martin Anstree.

The 56-year-old is a former police officer turned wildlife photographer, and was on board as an expert birdwatching guide.

He told Sky News from hospital in the Netherlands: ‘I’m doing OK. I’m not feeling too bad. There are still lots of tests to be done.

‘I have no idea how long I’ll be in the hospital for. I’m in isolation at the moment.’

His wife Nicola told the Telegraph it had been ‘a very traumatic few days’.

She added: ‘He’s relieved to be off the ship. He had it quite mild then it got a bit more serious and now he’s stable again.

‘The fear with this virus is it can deteriorate very quickly so it’s been a bit up and down for him.

‘I don’t believe he’s in imminent danger now but it was horrible.’

Two other Brits who returned independently to the UK from the cruise ship have been told to self-isolate at home, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said.