An American influencer trapped onboard the luxury MV Hondius cruise ship near West Africa amid a suspected hantavirus outbreak broke down sobbing over “very real” fears after three passengers died and others were seriously sick with symptoms.
Jake Rosmarin, a travel influencer from Boston who boasts more than 44,000 Instagram followers, shared a tearful video on Monday after the Dutch cruise liner was refused permission to dock in Cape Verde.
“I am currently on board the MV Hondius. What’s happening right now is very real for all of us here,” he sobbed.
@jakerosmarin I also want to acknowledge that Oceanwide Expeditions and the entire crew onboard have been handling this situation to the best of their ability, and I’m very grateful for their efforts throughout. It’s not easy for me to talk about this, but I am doing well. ❤️
“We’re not just a story, we’re not just headlines. We’re people with families, with lives, with people waiting for us at home.”
“There’s a lot of uncertainty and that’s the hardest part. All we want right now is to feel safe, to have clarity and to get home,” he added.
The MV Hondius requested help from local health authorities Sunday after making its way to the island — but has so far been refused permission to dock, the company operating the cruise said.
About 150 people are stuck on the vessel after three people — a Dutch couple and a German national — died following the suspected hantavirus outbreak.
Medics were working to try to evacuate two people with symptoms of the deadly virus.
The ship, which is carrying 17 Americans, was on a weekslong polar cruise from Argentina to Antarctica when trouble boarded early last month.
A 70-year-old Dutch man died on April 11 after developing a fever, headache, abdominal pain and diarrhea, officials said.
His body was taken off the vessel two weeks later on the British territory of Saint Helena — some 1,200 miles off the African coast.
His 69-year-old wife was transferred to South Africa at the same time but collapsed at a Johannesburg airport and died at a nearby hospital.
A sick British man was taken off the ship and evacuated to South Africa on April 27.
He later tested positive for hantavirus — a rare infection spread by rodents that can cause serious respiratory illness or hemorrhagic fever, authorities said.
A third passenger, identified as a German national, died on the ship on Saturday.
The three fatalities haven’t yet been linked to hantavirus.
With Post wires
