The GES Emergency helicopter successfully recovered the dead body of a man found floating in the waters off the coast between the municipalities of Los Realejos and Puerto de la Cruz in Tenerife yesterday (Wednesday), in the first of two tragic incidents reported by the Emergency Services Coordination Centre (CECOES).
At approximately 11:30am the 1-1-2 hotline received a distress call from the Local Police, reporting that a fisherman had spotted an individual, face down, floating in the sea from the shoreline. In response to this dire situation, CECOES promptly dispatched the necessary emergency resources of a GES rescue helicopter, an SUC ambulance, the Local Police, and the National Police to the location given.
The helicopter crew managed to successfully airlift the man from the sea in a state of cardiorespiratory arrest and took him to the El Peñón football pitch nearby, where paramedics tried to revive him.
Unfortunately, despite their efforts, they couldn’t reverse the situation and could only confirm the man’s death.
Just a few hours later, the Puerto de la Cruz Local Police alerted the emergency services informing them that they had reports of a person, who appeared unconscious, floating in the sea by rocks near the Plaza de Europa in the town.
The fire brigade were the first at the scene an proceeded to recover the body on a stretcher to a safer location where medical personnel were waiting.
On this occasion there was nothing they could do as the victim had been dead for some time, so they could only certify their death.
Both incidents highlight the danger of sea conditions and water temperatures in the winter around the islands, and that people should take extra care when going into the water at this time of year.
