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Spanish authorities evacuate British passengers from hantavirus-hit cruise ship

Get you up to speed: Spanish authorities evacuate British passengers from hantavirus-hit cruise ship

Inside major evacuation which rescued passengers of hantavirus ship | News World

This is the moment hundreds of health personnel kitted out in personal protective gear descended upon the hantavirus-riddled MV Hondius cruise ship.

The footage was obtained from the Spanish Civil Guard on May 10, filmed in the town of Granadilla de Abona, Tenerife.

Police vehicles, helicopters and maritime units also took part in the operation around the harbour.

The Spanish Civil Guard said in a statement: ‘The Civil Guard has participated in the transfer of the occupants of the MV Hondius from the port of Granadilla de Abona to Tenerife South Airport.

‘The operation has involved more than 300 personnel, including air resources, several vessels from the maritime service, NRBQ [Nuclear, Radiological, Biological and Chemical] specialists, GRS [Civil Guard Reserve and Security Group], and citizen security units.’

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The cruise ship MV Hondius has made headlines in recent weeks following an outbreak of hantavirus, killing three.

Health officials came onto the boat in Tenerife (Picture: Reuters)

One passenger gives a thumbs up while wearing a face covering (Picture: Getty)

British passengers on the ship were flown into Manchester Airport on a chartered flight from Tenerife after the HV Hondius docked there on Sunday morning.

Some 22 UK residents were among those evacuated from the vessel. They have since been taken to Arrowe Park Hospital.

They were photographed arriving by coach at the medical facility in Wirral, with the driver seen wearing a face mask and a clear face shield. All of them have tested negative for hantavirus.

The British passengers will quarantine for 45 days (Picture: Getty)

Passengers were seen looking out on the horizon before disembarking (Picture: AP)

They will now isolate for 72 hours in a dedicated accommodation block to determine if they can complete a 45-day isolation at home.

Janelle Holmes, CEO of Wirral University Teaching Hospital Trust, said the passengers will be able to phone their friends and family.

She told the BBC: ‘What we’ve learnt from past experience is they’re going to be absolutely shattered.

‘They’ve probably felt quite traumatised by the whole experience, so the thing for us to do is to make sure that they’re here, they’re safe, they’re welcome.’

Hantaviruses are potentially fatal diseases carried by rodents. Humans can contract the disease through contact with infected animals or their droppings, according to health authorities.

The Ministry of Defence says that the risk to the public remains very low.

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Scientists warn that Euphrates River could face severe drying by 2040

Get you up to speed: Scientists warn that Euphrates River could face severe drying by 2040

Bible suggests world will end when river dries up — and it’s happening | News Weird

Water levels across parts of the Euphrates have fallen dramatically in recent years (Picture: AFP via Getty Images)

For a river, the Euphrates has developed a surprisingly dramatic reputation over the years.

Civilisations rose alongside it. Religions wrote about it. And the Book of Revelation is said to suggest that when it eventually dries up, the apocalypse will not be far behind.

So you can see why some folk are quite concerned, given scientists now think large parts of the giant river could disappear within decades.

It’s a turn of events that makes for pretty grim reading.

Climate scientists say worsening droughts are putting the historic river under growing pressure (Picture: AFP via Getty Images)

The Euphrates runs through Turkey, Syria and Iraq, and is the longest river in Western Asia.

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For thousands of years, it helped feed cities, water crops, and sustain and encourage trade routes across what is often known as ‘the cradle of civilisation’.

Large parts of formative human history basically set up camp around the body of water. Now though, researchers say it is shrinking fast.

Climate-driven droughts, rising temperatures, and an unrelenting demand for fresh water have created a perfect storm, potentially spelling the end for the basin in recent decades.

One recent warning suggested the Euphrates could effectively dry out by 2040 if conditions keep getting worse. This would be catastrophic for the millions of people who still rely on it every day for water and agriculture.

The Euphrates has supported towns, trade and entire civilisations for thousands of years (Picture: AFP via Getty Images)

It’s also not brilliant news for anyone already nervous about world-ending biblical prophecies.

That’s because the book of Revelation vividly describes the river drying up before a final great conflict linked to Armageddon.

In fact, the Euphrates features heavily in the Bible. The ancient waterway appears in both Genesis and Revelation, two of the book’s more famous chapters.

One particularly dramatic verse in the end-of-times Revelation chapter describes the river drying up after an angel pours out one of the symbolic ‘seven bowls’ of judgment.

Researchers have warned that rising temperatures, climate change and relentless demand for freshwater are accelerating the crisis (Picture: AFP via Getty Images)

The verse reads: ‘The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East.’

For centuries now, scholars have argued over whether this passage from the New Testament should be taken literally or symbolically, or whether there is a happy (or, rather, unhappy) middle.

In the ancient world, the river acted as a major natural barrier against invading forces from the east, so the passage describes its disappearance as clearing the way for armies and rulers to advance toward a final conflict often associated with Armageddon. Here’s hoping that part’s wrong.

Beyond Biblical prophecies, the stats surrounding the river are alarming enough on their own. Studies conducted using satellite imaging suggest that the Euphrates River basin has lost more than 34 cubic miles of freshwater since 2003, Daily Mail reports.

The river still provides water for millions of people across a number of countries (Picture: AFP via Getty Images)

After a major drought in 2007, water levels dropped sharply, and parts of the wider region never really and truly recovered.

A few years back, Jay Famiglietti, a hydrologist and professor at the University of California, Irvine, said: ‘The rate was especially striking after the 2007 drought.

‘Meanwhile, demand for fresh water continues to rise, and the region does not coordinate its water management because of different interpretations of international laws.’

The crisis is already causing some pretty serious knock-on effects across Iraq, where access to clean water has become increasingly difficult in some areas.

It’s no longer just an environmental problem discussed in reports and conferences, either – it is affecting public health in very immediate and obvious ways.

A report published in the British Medical Journal found diseases linked to unsafe water are spreading as conditions worsen in Iraq.

Communities that once depended on the river are now tackling water shortages, pollution, and collapsing infrastructure all at once.

The Euphrates occupies a unique place in both human history and biblical tradition (Picture: REUTERS)

Naseer Baqar, a climate activist and field coordinator at the Tigris River Protectors Association in Iraq, told the BMJ: ‘Diarrhoea, chicken pox, measles, typhoid fever, and cholera are currently spreading across Iraq because of the water crisis, and the government no longer provides vaccines to its citizens.’

Long before climate scientists started monitoring the Euphrates from space, the river already occupied an important place in religious history. Genesis names it as one of the four rivers that are connected to the Garden of Eden.

According to the biblical account, Eden’s waters split into four rivers: the Tigris, Euphrates, Pishon and Gihon. The first two still exist today. The others seemingly vanished thousands of years ago.

And while social media has inevitably seized on the Revelation angle, scientists are focused on a more immediate threat.

One of the world’s most important rivers is shrinking in plain sight, and millions of people are already living with the consequences.

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