Isla Cangrejo Safety Under Renewed Scrutiny After Rescue, Fatalities
A recent rescue at Isla Cangrejo, a natural pool with a tragic history of multiple deaths, has intensified calls for urgent safety rule reviews and new regulations, including fines, to address its ongoing dangers.
Safety at Isla Cangrejo, a natural pool in Santiago del Teide, is once again under scrutiny due to its ongoing dangers. A recent rescue, which stopped another tragedy, highlights the urgent need to review safety rules at this spot, where many people have died before.
Last Sunday, a 45-year-old man and his eight-year-old daughter were caught by strong waves while swimming. They managed to hold onto rocks, preventing themselves from being pulled out to sea, until a helicopter from the Emergency and Rescue Group (GES) rescued them using a hoist. Both received treatment on land for minor cuts and scrapes. This incident happened after the Canary Islands government had issued a pre-alert for dangerous coastal conditions across the islands.
This latest event adds to a tragic history at Isla Cangrejo. On December 7, four tourists died there, and a fifth went missing. Ten months before that, two other men also died in the same natural pool. In the past year alone, six people have died and one has disappeared at Isla Cangrejo. Experts say these numbers are extremely worrying.
Chano Quintana, who heads the Canarias 1,500 Kilometers of Coast platform, calls Isla Cangrejo a "black spot." He noted that the December accident was the worst single incident in the Canary Islands' history. Quintana, who often speaks about preventing water accidents, suggests new local rules that would include fines. These fines would be minor, serious, or very serious, depending on how reckless someone is. He also thinks danger signs in these swimming areas should not just warn people of risks, but also state the fines for ignoring warnings, going past barriers, or swimming when a red flag is up.
Quintana believes that if warnings and prevention don't work, then fines or even temporarily closing the site are necessary. He also highlighted that Isla Cangrejo has no lifeguard service, which he sees as crucial for stopping and warning swimmers when the sea is dangerous. The place's popularity on social media, with "millions" of posts showing it as a global attraction, makes managing safety even harder. Many visitors come to enjoy the water but aren't always aware of the hidden dangers.