Vilaflor Commemorates 1950 Water Gallery Tragedy That Claimed Five Lives

More than seventy years later, the village of Vilaflor still remembers a tragedy that serves as a grim reminder of the dangers once faced by workers in the Canary Islands' water industry. On August 26, 1950, the collapse of the "Las Goteras" (or "La Milagrosa") water gallery claimed five lives, highlighting the extreme risks involved in underground water extraction during that era.

The disaster began on August 25, when three workers entered the tunnel and failed to return. A rescue team was quickly organized, managing to pull Antonio Cano Martín out alive, though he was suffering from gas poisoning. Tragically, 19-year-old Emilio Quijada González died inside the tunnel, and Francisco Fumero Fumero remained trapped deep underground.

The situation turned even deadlier the following day. A second rescue party—Antonio Cano Oliva, Miguel Cabrera Tacoronte, Francisco Delgado Valentín, Francisco León García, and Jesús Reverón Tacoronte—entered the gallery to recover Fumero’s body. As they traveled in a mine cart, it tipped over, breaking the ventilation ducts. The resulting exposure to toxic gases killed Cano Oliva and Cabrera Tacoronte instantly, while their three companions barely managed to escape.

The Civil Guard eventually cordoned off the tunnel to prevent further loss of life. Recovering the victims was a slow and difficult process: the bodies of Cano Oliva and Cabrera Tacoronte were not retrieved until September 3, and Francisco Fumero’s remains were not recovered until January 26, 1951—five months after the initial accident.

This tragedy was not an isolated event but a direct result of the hazardous conditions within the island’s water galleries, which lacked modern safety protocols. The death of Miguel Cabrera Tacoronte, who left behind eight children, and his fellow workers stands as a somber symbol of the human cost of Tenerife’s water search, marking a dark chapter in the history of workplace safety during the Spanish postwar period.