Double Accidents Cause Major Traffic Gridlock on Tenerife’s TF-5 Highway
Two separate accidents on Tenerife's TF-5 highway caused significant traffic paralysis this afternoon, reigniting concerns over the infrastructure's inability to manage high daily volumes.
Traffic on the TF-5, a vital route in northern Tenerife, ground to a halt this afternoon following two separate accidents that paralyzed movement in both directions. According to the 112 Canary Islands emergency service, the incidents highlight the strain on an infrastructure that struggles to handle the high volume of daily traffic it was never designed to support.
The first accident occurred at 3:37 p.m. at kilometer 22 in La Matanza, where a motorcyclist lost control while heading north. Just one minute later, at 3:38 p.m., a five-car pileup took place at kilometer 5 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
Emergency teams, including the Civil Guard, road maintenance crews, and medical units, were quickly dispatched to the scenes. Despite the scale of the multi-vehicle collision and the difficulty of clearing the road, only one person sustained minor injuries.
These incidents have reignited concerns regarding road safety on the island’s major highways, where heavy congestion and a lack of alternative routes often lead to frequent accidents. When traffic is blocked at multiple points along the same highway, it complicates rescue efforts and causes long-lasting delays, severely disrupting travel across the north of the island.