Tenerife enjoys a climate and maritime quality that encourage people to visit its wonderful beaches. However, this sometimes poses a risk that not everyone is aware of, leading to various sea accidents. The island, like Gran Canaria, saw 24 drowning deaths.
Regarding maritime accidents, the number of people affected rises to 82: 24 fatalities, 44 injured to varying degrees and 14 rescues. All these incidents were reported on 54 beaches and coastal points spread across 18 municipalities.
At a Canarian Level
‘Canary Islands, 1,500 km of Coastline‘ reported 136 beaches in the islands located in 44 municipalities that recorded a total of 253 water accidents during the past year 2023, resulting in 71 lives lost.
Additionally, there were six critically injured, 33 severely injured, 41 moderately injured, 20 slightly injured, and 82 rescued unharmed in 2023, while in 36 Canarian municipalities at least one death occurred last year in the water.
This was highlighted on Tuesday during the presentation of the VIII Map of Water Accidents in the Canary Islands 2023, attended by the director of the Elder Museum, José Gilberto Moreno; the councilor of Sea City of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Pedro Quevedo; the general director of the Presidency of the Gran Canaria Council, Pablo Rodríguez; and Sebastián Quintana, author of the study and president of the drowning prevention platform.
Specifically, this analysis is promoted by the Canarian association for the prevention of water accidents, with the support of the Gran Canaria Council, the backing of the Canary Islands Government, the City of Sea and Tourism departments of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the Elder Museum of Science and Technology, and with the collaboration of Binter.
Regarding activities, 68% of people who lost their lives due to drowning were bathers; in other categories, 14%; fishermen 8%; divers 7% and water sports enthusiasts 3%.
Additionally, among the nationalities of the identified deceased, 12 were foreigners from up to 8 different nationalities.
The highest percentage of deaths is among those over 60 years old
By age, 35% of the deceased were over 60 years old; 32% were of unknown age; adults 31%; and 2% were minors.
Furthermore, 67% of the deaths occurred in the afternoon, 27% in the morning, and 6% at night.
Beaches were the environment where most fatalities occurred, with 54% of cases, followed by ports and coastal areas (35%), natural pools (7%), and swimming pools (4%).
Gran Canaria and Tenerife, islands with the highest number of casualties
By islands, Gran Canaria and Tenerife recorded the highest number of drowning victims, with 24 people losing their lives in each.
However, Gran Canaria had a higher total number of affected individuals (93): in addition to the fatalities, 26 injured, and 43 rescues, all located in 38 beaches and coastal areas of 9 municipalities.
Fuerteventura had 47 affected individuals: 12 fatalities, 15 injured, and 20 rescues, located in 21 beaches and coastal areas of 4 municipalities; and Lanzarote, 23 victims: 8 fatalities, 11 injured to varying degrees, and 4 rescues, in 16 beaches and coastal areas of 7 municipalities.
Lastly, La Palma had no fatalities but reported 3 injuries, in two beaches and coastal areas of 1 municipality; La Gomera, two fatalities in two beaches and coastal areas of two municipalities; El Hierro, one fatality and one injury in two beaches of two municipalities; and in La Graciosa, one rescue.
