The plane carrying hantavirus patients waits in the Canary Islands for another aircraft after suffering an electrical failure

The ambulance plane that is transporting two people infected with hantavirus from the MV Hondius cruise ship from Cape Verde to the Netherlands and that had to stop in Gran Canaria due to an electrical failure will remain on the airport runway until the arrival of a new aircraft that will complete the transfer.

According to sources from the Ministry of Health, the plane had to stop to refuel in Morocco, a country that refused, so Spain was asked to be allowed to use Gran Canaria airport. Upon making the stopover, the doctor reported a failure in the electrical support system of a patient.

This patient, who remains inside the plane with electrical support from the airport, does not represent any danger to public health, the same sources assure.

Until the arrival of a new aircraft and the resolution of the situation, the ambulance plane will remain on the aerodrome runway.

The Ministry of Health has thus clarified the circumstances under which this stop had to occur, after the Government Delegation initially reported that this unscheduled stop in the Canary Islands was due to a mere refueling, forced by the objections raised by Rabat to doing so in its territory, and later specified that it was caused by the rupture of the isolation bubble.

The Government Delegation also assured that the crew was given the condition for landing in Gran Canaria that no one would get on or off the plane, a requirement that guarantees it has been respected.

The plane had departed from Praia International Airport at 11:00 AM with the intention of stopping in Marrakech to refuel around 4:00 PM, to complete its flight to Amsterdam, where it was scheduled to arrive at 5:00 PM, Netherlands time.

Although the crew had communicated a change of route to stop in Malaga before continuing to the Netherlands, according to the specialized flight tracking internet service Flightradar 24, none of the aircraft are scheduled to stop in the Andalusian city according to Health sources.