India, May 11 -- The first plane carrying passengers evacuated from the hantavirus-hit cruise ship departed from Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands on Sunday for Madrid, where they will go to a military hospital.

Spanish nationals were the first to leave the MV Hondius, which remains anchored off Tenerife after arriving hours earlier, and they will be under quarantine after they reach Madrid, Spanish health authorities say.

Only Spanish nationals will quarantine in the country. The cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions listed 13 Spanish passengers and one Spanish crew member on board.

Nobody among the more than 140 people on the Hondius is showing symptoms of the virus, Spain's health ministry, the World Health Organisation and cruise ...