TENERIFE, Canary Islands (AP) — Passengers started disembarking on Sunday from the hantavirus-hit cruise ship anchored off Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands.

An Associated Press journalist at the scene said that some people were seen arriving on land after leaving the ship.

Spain’s health ministry said that Spanish nationals would be the first to leave the ship, and would be ferried off in small launch boats that carry between five and 10 people.

Nobody among the more than 140 people on the MV Hondius is showing symptoms of the virus, Spanish authorities, the World Health Organization and cruise company Oceanwide Expeditions said.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

TENERIFE, Canary Islands (AP) — The cruise ship at the center of a hantavirus outbreak arrived off Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands, where the passengers and some of the crew will begin disembarking on Sunday, officials said.

Nobody among more than 140 people on board the MV Hondius is showing symptoms of the virus, Spanish authorities, the World Health Organization and cruise company Oceanwide Expeditions said. Three people have died since the outbreak, and five passengers who left the ship are infected with hantavirus, which can cause life-threatening illness.

The ship won’t dock but will remain anchored, with people ferried off in small launch boats, carrying between five and 10 people.

Everyone disembarking will be checked for symptoms, and will only be taken off the ship once evacuation flights are ready to fly them to their destinations.

“The entire operation is proceeding normally,” Spanish Health Minister Mónica García said.

Authorities are aiming to complete the evacuation flights between Sunday and Monday, Spanish authorities and WHO said.

There are people of more than 20 different nationalities on board.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, along with Spain’s health and interior ministers, will supervise the operation in Tenerife, the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands off the coast of West Africa. Authorities have said the passengers and crew members who will disembark will have no contact with the local population.

Hantavirus usually spreads when people inhale contaminated residue of rodent droppings and isn’t easily transmitted between people. But the Andes virus detected in the cruise ship outbreak may be able to spread between people in rare cases. Symptoms usually show between one and eight weeks after exposure.

The Spanish nationals on board will be the first to disembark, García said, and will be transferred to a medical facility and quarantined. Oceanwide has listed 13 Spanish passengers and one Spanish crew member on board.