Spear fisher drowns off La Mareta beach in Granadilla

A 50 year old Russian man died at the beach of La Mareta in Granadilla yesterday while practicing spear fishing, despite attempts by other swimmers at the beach and agents of the local police who tried to resuscitate him.

The incident occurred at around 5.00pm yesterday afternoon, when CECOES received an emergency call requesting help for a man that had been spear fishing underwater and had suffered a suspected heart attack in the sea.

Other bathers saw him floating on the surface and dragged him from the water to the shore while emergency services immediately activated the necessary resources sending them straight to the beach.

Once on land, local police officers and the bathers themselves practiced basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation manoeuvres to try and save him, until SUC paramedics took over with advanced CPR. Along with a doctor from a local health centre, their attempts were unsuccessful and they were only able to confirm his death.

After he was declared officially dead, his body was then taken for official identification and autopsy to confirm the cause of death.