Dangerous swimming spots in Tenerife are the attractive natural pools that have formed along the coastal areas.
Located in Santiago del Teide, the Cueva del Tancón is a pool or sea pool where strong currents suck swimmers to the bottom. Beneath the pool, there is a labyrinth of caves and passages that create underwater currents that a human being is no match for. Therefore, bathing and swimming there is forbidden. Those who do not heed the prohibition warnings risk their lives there.
The ocean gives and the ocean taketh away. You sometimes hear this from boaters and fishermen who regularly sailed at sea.
33-year-old Swiss Jasmine Ben Ali and 27-year-old Italian Giovanni Rodríguez can no longer tell. The two youngsters recently drowned in El Tancón. Jasmine and Giovanni bring to six the number of fatalities at this location in the last four years.
Bubbles, Foam and Strong Current
Alejandra was 14 years old. She had gone swimming with a group of friends. While some had entered the Tancón cave through the horizontal entrance, a crack-shaped hole created by lava flows, others had gone to the second vertical entrance just a few metres away. These are the famous bufaderos or siphons. This 5-metre-deep natural chimney also leads into the cave, filling and emptying it depending on the waves and tides. At low tide, you can jump in and reach the cave through the bottom of the hole of volcanic rock. But if the sea is rough or flooded, you can quickly get into trouble. Alejandra was suddenly swallowed by the water. The suction took her by surprise. Sucked into a kind of volcanic tube under the cave, she was able to cling to life and held her breath for as long as she could. All around her were bubbles, foam and strong currents.
When she surfaced for a moment, she was able to take a deep breath and grasp an infused hand. That was her salvation.
Deadly Paradise
Jaime Coello, director of the Telesforo Bravo Juan Coello Foundation, has long been warning via social networks about the serious risks of the Tancón cave. He calls the pool deadly paradise. Paradise because it is an impressive cave, where the sea takes on a turquoise hue. Deadly because the sea inside behaves very treacherously.
People who violate the swimming ban there endanger not only their own lives but also those of the rescue teams.
In the Canary Islands, there were 43 drowning victims in 2020, 64 in 2021 and 74 in 2022. However, not a euro is invested in awareness campaigns to prevent drownings, while millions are spent on traffic campaigns.
Fines from 300 to 3,000 euros
The bathing zones in the Canary Islands are not unsafe. The danger comes from humans. This is what the initiator of a group, which evaluates accidents on the coasts based on official reports with the cooperation of the security services and agencies, wants to make clear. He reminds us that between 2016 and 2020, 327 people died in Canarias due to accidents in bathing areas. Of them, 41% (135) are foreigners and come from 27 different countries.
The mayor of Santiago del Teide, Emilio José Navarro, does not know what else to do. Some people even waited until the rescue teams had left the area before entering the sea there, when it had just been announced that two people had drowned.
The only deterrent measure that may have an effect is the fine, which ranges from 300 to 3,000 euros.
Unknown © Photography
Dangerous swimming spots in Tenerife ©
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