3 People Dead and Several Injured After Being 'Surprised by Wave' and Swept into Water at Popular Tourist Spot

NEED TO KNOW

• Three people have died following an incident in the water on the Spanish island of Tenerife
• Officials said several people fell into the water in a natural pool at the Los Gigantes cliff due to a wave
• Three others were also injured in the Dec. 7 incident, with one airlifted to the hospital

At least three people have died and three others were injured after they were 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 fallen into the water after being “surprised by a wave” 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.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Emergency services recovered one deceased person from the water. Two other individuals died at the scene, the GES confirmed. A 35-year-old man, 55-year-old woman and a man of an unknown age are among the dead.

Three other people were rescued, including a 39-year-old woman who was transported to a local hospital. Another woman was airlifted to a separate hospital.

“The Maritime Rescue helicopter rescued one person from the water and recovered a deceased person,” the GES said.

"Beach rescue crews using jet skis rescued a woman in cardiac arrest and brought her to the pier, where Canary Islands Emergency Service (SUC) personnel performed advanced resuscitation maneuvers until they reversed the cardiac arrest and stabilized the woman, before transferring her by ambulance to a medical helicopter for air evacuation to the hospital."

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Two people were treated by SUC staff “after they got out of the water on their own,” the GES said in the release. One of them was then transported to the hospital.

The injured survivors and victims have not been identified at this time.

The SUC deployed a medical helicopter and five ambulances. The GES, Maritime Rescue, Tenerife Firefighters, the Beach lifeguard service and the Civil Guard assisted them at the scene.

“The GES helicopter carried out several aerial sweeps while Maritime Rescue and Tenerife Firefighters inspected with maritime resources,” the GES said.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The tragedy comes after three people died in similar separate incidents in Tenerife on Nov. 8.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Ten people were swept out into the ocean by waves at the Puerto de la Cruz pier, killing one person. Two other people died that same day in a similar incident on Granadilla de Abona beach in La Guancha, Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported.

PEOPLE has reached out to the GES for further comment.

Read the original article on People

• About Our Ads