The Emergency Coordination and Security Centre 112Canary Islands received an alert call this afternoon, around 4:45 pm, from an off-duty National Police officer, reporting that two individuals, including a youth around 12 years old, had fallen into the sea due to strong waves on Rojas beach in the municipality of El Sauzal.
112 Canary Islands immediately activated an emergency response team consisting of the Canary Islands Government Emergency and Rescue Group (GES), Tenerife Firefighters, Maritime Rescue, Local Police, Civil Guard, and Canary Islands Emergency Service (SUC).
According to the information provided by the callers, the adult had hit the rocks and the youth was swimming away from the breaking area.
Youth Rescue
The GES helicopter dispatched to the location spotted the youth, hoisted them onto the aircraft and landed on a nearby platform where SUC ambulances were already waiting to provide medical assistance. The youth, who showed signs of moderate hypothermia and abrasions, was transported by ambulance to the University Hospital of the Canary Islands (HUC) along with a woman experiencing anxiety.
The SUC also mobilised an emergency psychology team to support the families of the affected individuals at the incident site.
The Tenerife Firefighters team that arrived at the scene assisted with medical and rescue resources, but the strong waves and rough sea conditions prevented them from rescuing the other person who, as reported to the coordination centre, had disappeared in one of the caves in the area.
The GES helicopter returned to the location where the affected individual went missing until it was relieved by the Maritime Rescue helicopter, the HELIMER, which continued the search with no success.
A Maritime Rescue vessel joined the search operation by sea, and on land, Local Police, Civil Guard, and Firefighters are collaborating. The SUC maintained a medicalised ambulance preventively and the psychological support group. Civil Guard officers will remain in the search area overnight, and the operation will resume early in the morning with the incorporation of the Specialised Underwater Activities Group (GEAS).
Recommendations
In this regard, the Canary Islands Government has consistently urged the population to always follow self-protection recommendations and the authorities’ instructions. In alert situations like the one affecting the Canary Islands this weekend, it is crucial to avoid high-risk areas such as seafront promenades, docks, and breakwaters near the sea to prevent being swept away by the waves, as well as refraining from taking photographs or videos close to where the waves break.
The General Directorate of Emergencies declared a situation of alert for coastal phenomena across the entire archipelago, from 8:00 pm on Friday, based on information from the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) due to the rough sea conditions, with northeast winds of force 5 to 7 (30 – 60 km/h) and stronger intensities on the southeast and northwest slopes of the islands and offshore among them.
Likewise, the forecast predicted a predominance of strong swells with extensive areas of rough seas and northwest swell with waves of three to five metres that could occasionally reach four to six metres in height on open coasts to the north and west of the islands.
