Britain’s ambassador to Spain has praised the ‘outstanding Spanish authorities’ for its handling of the hantavirus cruise ship evacuation.
Alex Ellis was on site in Tenerife on Sunday as the complex operation got underway under the watchful eye of the world’s media.
In a video shared on X, he said: ‘Behind me are the final British passengers getting on the bus to take them to the airport, hopefully, safely home to Manchester.
‘There’s been a great team effort by the Foreign Office’s rapid deployment team and officials across government to support this.
‘And finally, big thanks to the Spanish authorities, who have been outstanding from beginning to end in supporting this great effort.’
The comments come after Spain faced several days of political and public controversy over the decision to allow the infected ship to dock in the Canary Islands.
Canary Islands president Fernando Clavijo had initially opposed the operation hours before the vessel arrived, arguing there were insufficient guarantees over public health safety.
However, Spain’s central government – backed by the World Health Organization – ultimately authorised the emergency operation, insisting Tenerife had the logistical, medical and security capacity to safely manage the situation.
WHO officials have repeatedly stressed that ‘this is not Covid-19’ and that the risk to the general public remains very low.
