Natural swimming pool at Los Gigantes, Tenerife. Photo: Mike Peel // Wikimedia Commons
What began as a visit to an idyllic natural pool turned into a horrific tragedy this weekend. On Sunday, strong waves swept away tourists at a popular Tenerife tourist destination.
The incident occurred on Sunday, December 7 at Los Gigantes, a resort on the west coast of the island. According to a release from Canaries government authorities, at 4:07 p.m. they received a report that a group of people had been knocked into the water by a wave while visiting a natural pool at the Los Gigantes cliffs.
Rescue crews were deployed immediately. A helicopter retrieved one person from the water and recovered one body. Meanwhile, beach rescue crews revived one woman who was in cardiac arrest on the beach and recovered two more bodies, a 35-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman. The woman was airlifted to a nearby hospital, where local news outlet El Pais reports she passed away around 7 a.m. Monday.
The mayor of Santiago del Teide, Emilio Navarro, informed local press that two of the victims were Romanian, and a third was Slovakian.
According to Tenerife Weekly, the search still continues for one more potential victim. The Guardia Civil has been carrying out a search by sea and air for another tourist also believed to have fallen in at the same time as the others.
A weather advisory had been in place on several islands in the Canaries, including Tenerife, since December 5. The area where the incident occurred had been sealed off to visitors as a result. “We ask people to pay attention to the signage put up by the authorities,” said Navarro. “It’s to take care of, and protect everyone.”
