Nearly 40 passengers aboard a cruise ship linked to a deadly hantavirus outbreak disembarked earlier at the remote South Atlantic island of St. Helena after the first death was reported, Dutch officials said Thursday.
According to the Dutch foreign ministry, the group included the wife of a Dutch passenger who died during the voyage. The passengers left the vessel while it was docked at the British overseas territory.
The cruise operator had earlier confirmed only that the Dutch woman departed the ship at St. Helena with her husband’s body before traveling onward to South Africa on a commercial flight.
The company, however, has not publicly confirmed that additional passengers also left the vessel.
Dutch authorities did not specify the current whereabouts of those who disembarked. Officials in South Africa and Europe are now working to trace people who may have come into contact with the passengers after they left the ship.
At least three passengers have died in the outbreak, while several others remain ill.