Norwegian Dawn cruise ship in quarantine off Mauritius with 3,000 people aboard due to mystery illness
- Several people on Norwegian Dawn’s South Africa voyage have a stomach-related illness
- Ship was prevented from docking in La Reunion on Friday before being blocked from Port Louis
More than 3,000 people are stranded on board a cruise ship off the East African island of Mauritius because of a health risk.
Following a series of gastrointestinal illnesses on board the Norwegian Dawn, the authorities in Mauritius refused to allow the ship to dock in the harbour of the capital Port Louis on Sunday, after the French island of La Reunion had already turned the ship away.
“The decision not to allow the cruise ship access to the quay was taken in order to avoid any health risks,” the Mauritius Ports Authority said in a statement.
“The health and safety of passengers as well as that of the country as a whole are of the utmost to the authorities,” it added, without giving any details about the nature of the health risk.
Southern Africa is currently experiencing one of the worst cholera outbreaks in years.
The majority of the 2,184 passengers were supposed to start their journey home on Sunday. At the same time, 2,279 new travellers were originally due to board in Port Louis, the port authority said. There are also 1,026 crew members on the ship.
