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Video shared on social media shows the captain of a cruise ship affected by a hantavirus outbreak informing passengers on April 12 that one person had died on board, saying the death was believed to be due to natural causes and was not infectious.
“This is my sad duty to inform you that one of our passengers suddenly passed away last night. Tragic as it is, it was due to natural causes, we believe. And also, whatever health issues he was struggling with, I'm told by the doctor, were not infectious, so the ship is safe when it comes to that. We're in the middle of the Atlantic, it's only a few places we can go to. These places happen to be on our itinerary. This is secondary level. Anyways, the ship is safe.”
The ship’s operator said in a statement that the information relayed by the captain was accurate at the time, and that he followed proper health and safety standards following a death at sea.
Reuters verified the vessel from the lounge interiors seen in the video, which matched archive imagery of the vessel. The date on which the video was recorded was verified by the metadata of the original video file.
In the footage, recorded by a passenger aboard the MV Hondius and posted online, Captain Jan Dobrogowski told those on board it was his “sad duty” to announce the death, adding that doctors believed it was not linked to a contagious illness and that “the ship is safe.”
Oceanwide Expeditions, the ship’s operator, said in a statement that the announcement was made on April 12 about the death of a Dutch national the previous day, adding that at the time there was no evidence of a virus on board and the case was considered isolated after medical review.
The video has gained attention as the Hondius deals with a hantavirus outbreak that has since left three people dead and several others suspected of infection, with the vessel held offshore before heading toward Spain’s Canary Islands with about 150 people on board.
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