At least three people have died and three others were injured after being swept into the ocean on the Spanish island of Tenerife.
Shortly after 4 p.m. local time on Sunday, Dec. 7, authorities received an alert that several people had been knocked into the sea after being “surprised by a wave” while in a natural pool at the Los Gigantes cliffs, the Emergency and Rescue Group of the Government of the Canary Islands (GES) said in a news release.
Emergency services recovered one deceased person from the water, and two others died at the scene, according to the GES. A 35-year-old man, a 55-year-old woman and a man of an unknown age are among the dead.
Three additional people were rescued. A 39-year-old woman was transported to a local hospital, while another woman was airlifted to a separate hospital for treatment.
“The Maritime Rescue helicopter rescued one person from the water and recovered a deceased person,” the GES said.
Beach rescue crews using jet skis brought another woman, who was in cardiac arrest, back to the pier. There, Canary Islands Emergency Service (SUC) personnel performed advanced resuscitation, successfully reversing the cardiac arrest and stabilizing her before she was transferred by ambulance to a medical helicopter and flown to the hospital.
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Two more people received care from SUC staff “after they got out of the water on their own,” the GES added. One of them was later taken to the hospital.
The identities of the victims and injured survivors have not yet been released.
The SUC deployed a medical helicopter and five ambulances to the scene. They were supported by the GES, Maritime Rescue, Tenerife Firefighters, the beach lifeguard service and the Civil Guard.
“The GES helicopter carried out several aerial sweeps while Maritime Rescue and Tenerife Firefighters inspected with maritime resources,” the GES said.
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This incident follows a string of similar tragedies in the area. On Nov. 8, three people died in separate wave-related accidents in Tenerife. Ten people were swept into the ocean by waves at the Puerto de la Cruz pier, resulting in one death, while two other people died the same day in a similar incident on Granadilla de Abona beach in La Guancha, according to Spanish newspaper El Mundo.
