The number of people killed on Saturday (November 8) in Tenerife after a weather alert for rough seas was issued has risen to three. A Dutch tourist died and nine people were rushed to hospital after being swept into the sea in the popular northern city resort of Puerto de la Cruz.
In a separate incident, six French holidaymakers were injured after suffering the same fate in Roque de las Bodegas on Tenerife’s northeast tip. The second person killed was a 43-year-old local, at a natural complex of pools called Charco del Viento, a short drive west of Puerto de la Cruz. Overnight, it emerged that the body of a man whose identity is not yet known was found floating in the sea off a beach called El Cabezo in Granadilla in the southwest of the island.
The incident with the most casualties, in which the 79-year-old Dutch woman died, occurred around 3pm yesterday. A regional government-run emergency response coordination centre, giving a full update on what happened, said: “A woman has died and nine people were injured after being swept into the sea by a wave.”
The incident in which a 43-year-old man lost his life at Charco del Viento occurred just before 4.45pm. Local reports described him as a local living in nearby La Orotava who was fishing when he was swept into the sea.
Emergency responders said: “The alert received said the man had fallen into the sea and needed help.
“A helicopter rescued him and took him to a helicopter landing area at the docks in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
“Once there he was confirmed dead due to the severity of the injuries he had suffered.
“An investigation led by the Civil Guard is ongoing.”
The incident in which the French tourists were hurt, the first of yesterday’s dramas which happened around 11.30am, is said to have occurred after they ignored warning signs and got too close to the sea. Emergency responders confirmed none had suffered life-threatening injuries. Three men and three women were among the casualties. They managed to get out of the sea after being swept in by a wave with the help of other people. Five were taken to hospital, one in an air ambulance.
The nationality of the man said to have been in cardiac arrest when he was pulled out of the sea at El Cabezo beach in Granadilla, around 2pm yesterday, has not been revealed. Local authorities say he was pulled out of the sea “after being found floating in the water” and have not clarified yet whether he ended up in the ocean in the same circumstances as those swept off their feet by large waves.
The day of the three deaths, Canary Islands officials had reminded locals and holidaymakers to exercise “maximum caution” at the coast. They said: “Don’t stand at the end of piers or breakwaters, and do not risk taking photographs or videos near where the waves break.”
The alert about sea conditions was first sounded on Friday.
Between January and October, 54 people died from drowning in the Canary Islands.
