Pays $750,000 to evacuate cruise passenger from island | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Washington — The Trump administration allocated $750,000 to charter a private yacht to evacuate a single American citizen from Pitcairn Island after she had been aboard the Dutch MV Hondius cruise liner in April, amid a hantavirus outbreak. According to two U.S. officials and internal government documents, the woman had disembarked the ship, flown to San Francisco, and then traveled to Pitcairn Island via Tahiti. The operation is part of rapid evacuations funded by the State Department's emergency budget, known as the K Fund, which has reached its lowest balance in seven years. Total evacuation costs are still being assessed as the mission unfolds.

British authorities had sought urgent American help evacuating the woman from Pitcairn, but initial attempts to move her to Tahiti were rejected by French Polynesian authorities because she had not disclosed her exposure. The United States is now transporting the woman from Pitcairn to Easter Island, a Chilean territory with direct flights to Santiago. Pitcairn is a remote island with about 50 residents, no airport, and limited maritime departure options. U.S. officials declined to comment on the specifics of the case.