2 dead in Tenerife after giant wave sweeps them away

tenerife, canary islands

A tourist and a local resident died on Spain’s holiday island of Tenerife and another person was missing after a giant wave swept them away from a natural seaside pool, authorities said Thursday.

An amateur video of the incident broadcast on Spanish television showed a man running on rocks next to a natural pool as a huge wave crashed down, sweeping him away.

It is not known whether he is one of the two dead or still missing.

The victims of the incident that took place on Wednesday afternoon in Santiago del Teide were a 35-year-old resident of the volcanic Tenerife island and a 60-year-old tourist whose nationality is unknown, rescue services and local police told AFP.

The missing person, meanwhile, is a “young man”, a police spokesman said, without giving further details.

“It appears that another person who leapt into the water to try and save them was able to get out of their own accord,” rescue services said in a statement.

Tenerife, part of the archipelago of the Canary Islands off the west coast of Africa, is a major holiday destination and its natural, rocky seaside pools a key attraction.

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