Santa Cruz de Tenerife 8 Feb. (Europa Press) –
The Canary Islands stands as the only region in Spain where fatalities from drowning accounted for over 85% (72) compared to those resulting from road traffic incidents (39) in 2024, as highlighted by a comparative analysis conducted by the Association for the Prevention of Drowning, ‘Canary Islands, 1500 km of coast.’
This situation was also noted in the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, although with a considerably smaller margin: 1 drowning victim, with no fatalities on the roads, as the association pointed out in a press release.
This initiative is backed by the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, the Elder Museum of Science and Technology, and involves collaboration from the Ministry of Territorial Policy, Territorial Cohesion and Waters of the Government of the Canary Islands, along with the Department of Tourism and the Sea City Hall of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Binter.
In order to conduct this comparative analysis, they state that official data from the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT), information provided by Digital Ahogamiento.com, and statistics linked to the study ‘Canary Islands, 1500 km of coastline,’ were utilised.
Global Figures
Furthermore, national statistics reveal that Spanish roads claimed the lives of 1,154 individuals in 2024, while drowning incidents amounted to 514, according to the aforementioned sources.
The data indicates that Cantabria and La Rioja experienced a slim margin between road fatalities (11-7) and drownings (8-4) respectively over the past year. In Asturias, there were 27 road victims compared to 16 drownings; in the Balearic Islands, there were 42 road fatalities against 31 drownings, and in the Basque Country, 30 deaths on the roads versus 13 in water.
Extremadura reported 31 fatalities on the road and 11 in aquatic environments, with the following statistics from other regions: Galicia (89-60), Aragon (55-12), Murcia (49-29), Navarra (19-4), Catalonia (136-60), Castilla La Mancha (82-15), Castilla y León (126-27), Madrid (69-8), Andalusia (232-72) and Community Valenciana (110-70).
According to the association, the predominant cause of drowning mortality in aquatic environments is attributed to swimmer imprudence, accounting for 80% of cases, such as entering the sea when a red flag is hoisted or when weather conditions advise against it.
In the realm of traffic accidents, the leading cause of fatalities is driver distraction, particularly from mobile phone use, along with alcohol consumption in 40% of cases, as per sources from the Ministry of Health of the Government of Spain.
From ‘Canary Islands, 1500 km of coast,’ they have stressed the importance of exercising “common sense” and maintaining a preventive and self-responsible attitude when engaging in aquatic activities.
