Slovakia Four dead in high waves on Tenerife
According to media reports, the number of deaths caused by high waves on the vacation island of Tenerife has risen to four. One woman, who had initially been flown to hospital, died there, reported the Spanish state TV station RTVE.
08.12.2025, 13:51
SDA
On Sunday, rescue workers were only able to recover three people who had been swept into the sea by powerful waves. The search for a fifth person, a woman, is continuing. The people had been surprised by the high waves in a natural swimming pool in the west of the Spanish island. According to reports, the waves entered the swimming area, which was separated from the open sea by a stone wall, and crashed against the surrounding rocks. Subsequently, the suction of the water flowing back into the sea swept people away.
Two of the confirmed fatalities were Slovakians, as the Slovakian state news agency TASR reported, citing information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bratislava. Another person with Slovakian citizenship was injured. There was initially no official information on the origin of the other two fatalities in the accident near Los Gigantes in the Santiago del Teide region.
Woman initially rescued died later
The fourth casualty was a woman who was initially resuscitated on Sunday after suffering a cardiac arrest and was flown to hospital.
Warning of high waves had been in place for days
The authorities had been warning of high waves on the coasts of several islands since Friday. According to media reports, the natural swimming pool was cordoned off. However, the danger is easily underestimated because high waves can occur even in calm, windless weather. They build up due to distant storms in the Atlantic and then crash unchecked onto the Canary Islands, which rise steeply out of the sea and are of volcanic origin.
As recently as November 8, several giant waves on Tenerife washed numerous people into the sea - including many tourists, especially from France. Three people died in various incidents on the coast at the time. A total of 15 were injured. The coasts of the Canary Islands are considered dangerous. According to media reports, a total of around 60 people have drowned on all of the Canary Islands since January.
