Two seriously ill in hospital after near drownings this afternoon

[Janet]

Two people are in hospital this evening after nearly drowning in Tenerife this afternoon. The first was a 70-year-old woman who suffered a cardiac arrest while swimming at Poris. Medical staff who happened to be on the beach pulled her from the water and started resuscitation efforts which were taken over by ambulance crew when they arrived. Thankfully they were able to reverse the arrest and once they had stabilized her, she was transferred to Candelaria Hospital.

In a second incident just a couple of hours later, a sixteen year old French girl was pulled unconscious from the sea at Playa La Mareta between El Médano and Los Abrigos. Emergency services say that ambulance crew stabilized her at the scene and she too was transferred to Candelaria Hospital. Both are alive, but are said to be in serious condition.

This weather is tempting everyone into the water, but please bear in mind that only three days ago three people died in just five hours in the sea at Canarian beaches. We're in the middle of extremely high temperatures but the water around the Canaries doesn't get above 24° (75°F) even in the hottest spells, and people can suffer cold water shock in any water under 25º. It might sound absurd that in a 40º heatwave one could die of cold water shock but this is what happens. Please see the page HERE for advice about staying safe in the sea here.