Australian citizens who were on a Dutch-flagged luxury cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak returned home on Friday (May 15) and will isolate for at least three weeks at a quarantine facility.

Four Australian citizens, a permanent resident and one resident of New Zealand landed at an Australian air force base near Perth in Western Australia on a government-chartered flight, local media reported.

Federal Health Minister Mark Butler said all members of the group had tested negative and did not display symptoms of the virus before they boarded the flight in the Netherlands.

Eleven passengers on the MV Hondius have contracted the virus and three have died, according to the World Health Organization.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

PERTH, AUSTRALIA (MAY 15, 2026) (AUSTRALIAN POOL – Broadcast: No use Australia / New Zealand / Papua New Guinea Digital: No use Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea-based internet sites, mobile platforms or sites of media organisations based in those countries, NVO clients/ smh.com.au/ news.com.au)

1. PLANE LANDING AT AIRPORT

2. VARIOUS OF PLANE TAXIING ON RUNWAY

3. VAN DRIVING TOWARDS QUARANTINE FACILITY / PASSENGERS WEARING PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT INSIDE VEHICLE

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA (MAY 15, 2026) (AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION - Broadcast: No use Australia. Digital: No use Australia / .com.au internet sites / any internet site of any Australia based media organisations or mobile platforms / Australian NVO clients / smh.com.au / news.com.au)

4. AUSTRALIAN HEALTH MINISTER MARK BUTLER WALKING INTO NEWS CONFERENCE

5. (SOUNDBITE) (English) AUSTRALIAN HEALTH MINISTER MARK BUTLER, SAYING:

“The passengers, I’m pleased to say, remain in good health. They were subject to an initial health assessment upon landing, although they were also subject to ongoing assessment by a doctor on the plane for the entire flight. And they will be subject now they have been transported to the Bullsbrook quarantine facility to a more detailed health assessment and that will include another PCR test for the hantavirus. They underwent a test before they flew out of the Netherlands. That test was returned negative for all six passengers, but they will be tested again.”

PERTH, AUSTRALIA (MAY 15, 2026) (AUSTRALIAN POOL – Broadcast: No use Australia / New Zealand / Papua New Guinea Digital: No use Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea-based internet sites, mobile platforms or sites of media organisations based in those countries, NVO clients/ smh.com.au/ news.com.au)

6. VARIOUS OF POLICE VEHICLES OUTSIDE QUARANTINE FACILITY

7. VARIOUS OF EXTERIORS OF QUARANTINE FACILITY

8. LOCK ON GATE