Ann Lane, one of two Irish people on board the cruise ship MV Hondius cruise ship anchored off Cape Verde, has spoken of the shock on board when the first people died.
As The Irish Independent reports, Ms Lane recounted how the first man’s body had been on the ship for several days before being removed.
Three people have died and two people are reported to be ill on the ship, due to a suspected outbreak of hantavirus.
Ms Lane, a former personal assistant to former president Mary Robinson and Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik, told the newspaper that “it’s terribly sad, really awfully sad”.
“But we have confidence in Oceanwide [Expeditions], everyone on the ship, their performance has been impeccable.”
She also told how the ship’s doctor and a member of the expedition staff had now become unwell.
Ms Lane, originally from Co Cork and living in Donnybrook, Dublin, said she was in good health and it was a case of having to “hang in there” and wait for permission to disembark.
The cruise departed Ushuaia, Southern Argentina, for Canary Islands about three weeks ago with 149 passengers and stopped in the Antarctic and other locations on its way to Cape Verde.
Netherlands-based Oceanwide Expeditions said in a news release it was "managing a serious medical situation" on the polar expedition ship.
The World Health Organisation said in an X post that one of the sick passengers was in intensive care in South Africa.
Sky News has reported the passenger is British, citing South Africa's Department of Health.
WHO said it was investigating the outbreak and said that the risk to the wider public remains low.
“There is no need for panic or travel restrictions," WHO regional director for Europe, Dr Hans Henri P Kluge, said in a statement.
The Atlantic Ocean archipelago nation's National Directorate of Health said in a statement that all necessary safeguards were being put in place, including preparations for a possible medical evacuation by air ambulance for patients under observation.
It added that the situation was under control and there was currently no risk to the population on land.
Read The Irish Independent here
