Tenerife beach tragedy prompts calls for hotels to 'do more'

Hotels should do more to warn British tourists about the dangers of the ocean, a Canary Islands maritime safety organisation has said. Three people died and 15 were injured on Saturday in Tenerife after being swept out to sea by high waves.

Most were tourists, with the worst incident in the northern port city of Puerto de la Cruz resulting in a 79-year-old Dutch holidaymaker who had just left her cruise liner losing her life and nine others needing hospital treatment after being knocked off a sea wall. On the same day, six French tourists also ended up in the ocean after being swept off their feet as they wave-watched in Roque de las Bodegas on the island's north-east tip. Luckily, they all survived. Sebastian Quintana, president of Canarias 1500 Km de costa, had already linked the incidents to a lack of understanding of the Atlantic Ocean's power among tourists who were unfamiliar with local sea conditions.

He called yesterday for better signage and temporary barriers.

Overnight, Mr Quintana, whose organisation says seven out of every 10 tourists who drown in the Canary Islands are tourists, said hotels could help save lives with their own warnings.

Explaining to Tenerife daily Diario de Avisos the Atlantic archipelago's population was just over two million but the region welcomed 18 million tourists every year, he said: "It's as simple as putting a sign up in reception in several languages every time an alert or a pre-alert is activated, with the following message: 'Don't go to the beach today, the Canary Islands coastline is on alert for high waves and heavy swell.

"Our studies indicate that as the number of visitors to the archipelago grows, so does the number of accidents involving tourists.

"The safest and most effective flotation device is information."

Calling on visitors to the islands to exercise "responsibility and common sense" Mr Quintana added: "Human beings are the danger, not the coastline per say, because of recklessness which is the common denominator in these type of accidents."

Emergency responders have also been mobilised in recent days on the islands of La Palma and Lanzarote to assist people who got into difficulties because of the state of the sea.

The La Palma incident occurred just after midday on Sunday at a beach called Bajamar Beach in the municipality of Brena Alta on the eastern side of the volcanic island, which lies to the northwest of Tenerife.

Three people, including two women suffering hypothermia, were clinging to a buoy in the sea when they were rescued.

Another three people were injured yesterday after being hit by waves and knocked against rocks at a popular tourist spot called Los Charcones in Lanzarote, one of the most beautiful areas of natural swimming pools in the Canary Islands.

Spanish weather agency Aemet has sounded warnings about the effects of Storm Claudia from tomorrow, with a yellow alert in place for islands like La Palma with high winds and heavy rain expected.