MADRID, May 8 — Passengers aboard a cruise ship affected by a deadly hantavirus outbreak will start being flown to their countries of origin after the vessel arrives in the Canary Islands on Sunday, the Spanish government said Friday.

The MV Hondius is scheduled to reach the port of Granadilla on the island of Tenerife, off the coast of West Africa, on Sunday morning, cabinet minister Angel Victor Torres told journalists.

“That same day, we will have planes available and will be able to start getting these people onto the planes,” he said.

Interior ministry sources had earlier said evacuations would begin on Monday, with European Union countries repatriating their own citizens.

The fate of the MV Hondius has prompted international concern after it emerged that three people on board have died since the vessel departed Argentina in April.

Three unwell passengers were removed from the ship on Wednesday off Cape Verde, before it continued to the Canary Islands with nearly 150 people from 23 countries still on board.

Health minister Monica Garcia said foreign nationals showing symptoms, if they do not require urgent medical care, would be evacuated to their home countries under arrangements made by their respective governments.

“We are taking all the decisions we need to take, always knowing that we must assess all possible scenarios,” she said in an interview with Spanish public television.

Spanish authorities have said the ship will anchor off Tenerife and will not be allowed to dock, with passengers transferred to the port by a smaller vessel.

They will then be taken to the nearby airport by bus, Spain’s head of emergency services, Virginia Barcones, told public broadcaster TVE.

“In principle, these are asymptomatic individuals who will not require special transport,” she said. — AFP