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The captain of a cruise ship where three people died after hantavirus broke out told passengers there was ‘nothing infectious’ involving the primary 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 each he and his wife, each 69, had developed the rat virus and brought it aboard the ship after visiting the town of Ushuaia, Argentina.
The captain said: ‘One in every of our passengers sadly passed away last night. Tragic because it is, we consider it’s from natural causes.
‘I’m told by the doctor it will not be infectious, so the ship is protected on the subject of that.
‘It happens at sea sometimes. Very sad, very tragic.’
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He added that as we were in the midst of the Atlantic, they were ‘only a couple of places they may go to’.
One in every of the crew mates added ‘the gentleman got sick’ a couple of days before he passed, along with his wife still on board.
The pair, from Denmark, are believed to have visited a landfill site throughout the birdwatching trip and could 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 sick 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 potential for having such a contagious disease.
‘They didn’t take the issue seriously enough.’
The family of the couple on the centre of the outbreak said: ‘We cannot yet comprehend that we now have to miss them. We wish 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 authority birdwatching guide.
He told Sky News from hospital within the Netherlands: ‘I’m doing OK. I’m not feeling too bad. There are still a lot of tests to be done.
‘I don’t know how long I’ll be within the hospital for. I’m in isolation in the meanwhile.’
His wife Nicola told the Telegraph it had been ‘a really 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 may possibly deteriorate in a short time so it’s been a bit up and down for him.
‘I don’t consider he’s in imminent danger now nevertheless 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.
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