One of the 17 American passengers evacuated from a cruise ship in the Canary Islands has tested positive for the hantavirus but is not displaying any symptoms, US health officials confirmed late on Sunday.

The charter flight was carrying 17 Americans who had been evacuated from the MV Hondius following its arrival in Tenerife, the largest island in the Spanish archipelago situated off the West African coast. The aircraft was expected to touch down in Omaha, Nebraska, in the early hours of Monday.

The Americans were to be initially flown to the University of Nebraska, which operates a federally funded quarantine facility, in order to determine whether they had been in close contact with any symptomatic individuals and to evaluate their risk of transmitting the virus.

“One passenger will be transported to the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit upon arrival, while other passengers will go to the National Quarantine Unit for assessment and monitoring. The passenger who is going to the Biocontainment Unit tested positive for the virus but does not have symptoms,” said Kayla Thomas, a spokesperson for The Nebraska Medical Center.

The MV Hondius docked in Tenerife on Sunday morning, with Spanish authorities beginning the evacuation of the cruise liner by nationality, ferrying passengers to port aboard smaller vessels.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) stated its goal was to complete the full evacuation of the ship, with the exception of 30 crew members remaining on board, by 7pm on Monday.

Travellers were told to leave their belongings on board and were only allowed to carry a small bag containing essential items such as their phone and passport.

Director-General of the World Health Organization Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed late last night on X: “Most passengers and crew of the MV Hondius cruise ship successfully disembarked today.”

British nationals returning to the UK face a 45-day self-isolation period and will be barred from using public transport to travel home.

Once the isolation period has concluded, public health officials will assess whether passengers are able to self-isolate at home or at a suitable alternative location, depending on their individual living arrangements.

In a post on X, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Thank you to all those who worked around the clock to get passengers from MV Hondius back to the UK by special flight this evening with public health protections in place.

“The UK has worked with Spain, South Africa, the Netherlands and the WHO to coordinate safe returns.”

The bodies of two tourists missing after a volcano erupted in Indonesia have been discovered holding each other.

The bodies were recovered during a challenging operation hampered by treacherous terrain and heavy rainfall, according to Indonesia’s rescue agency head, Iwan Ramdani.

The bodies have been transported to a local hospital where they will undergo post-mortem examinations.

The volcano has continued its activity and has been persistently releasing ash since Friday, further complicating the evacuation efforts.

According to reports, debris was propelled as high as six miles into the atmosphere at its peak.

Despite warnings circulated across social media, several individuals “remain determined to climb, driven by the desire to create online content,” said North Halmahera police chief Erlichson Pasaribu on Friday.

He added: “They were aware that climbing was prohibited as the mountain is a restricted zone due to its high alert status, but insisted on going ahead.”

A search operation conducted on Sunday morning deployed approximately 150 personnel using thermal drones to scan around the mountain’s crater rim.

It was confirmed on Saturday that one missing Indonesian hiker had perished, while 17 people, including seven Singaporeans and 10 Indonesians, survived.

The country’s Foreign Ministry said that the seven rescued will return to Singapore on Sunday.

It remains unclear when the bodies of those found deceased will be repatriated. Indonesia’s volcanology agency reported four additional eruptions on Sunday, with one blast propelling ash nearly a mile into the sky.

All activity has been prohibited within a 2.5-mile radius of the crater, as Mount Dukono has been placed on the third-highest alert level.