Annual Drowning Figures Show Slight Decrease But Rise in Serious Injuries
A total of 69 people lost their lives to drowning in the Canary Islands from January to December 2025, three fewer (-4%) than in 2024 (72), according to data compiled by the Association for the Prevention of Aquatic Accidents, Canarias, 1500 Km de Costa. Specifically, nine fatalities were recorded in December, placing this month alongside August and September (with 9 deaths each) as having the highest drowning mortality rate for the entire year. Following these, January saw 8 deaths, while February, March, June, and July registered the lowest figures (with three fatalities each).
Sharp Increase in Critical and Serious Incidents
The association’s 2025 balance sheet highlights a worrying 71% increase in the number of critical and seriously injured bathers. The figure for those critically injured stood at 16 (+77% compared to 2024), while serious cases were set at 25 (+66%). Throughout 2025 there were also 70 moderately injured, 32 with minor injuries, and 29 rescued unharmed. In total, 241 people were involved in accidents, 55 more than in 2024 (+30%).
Ignoring Weather Alarms Proved Fatal
In 2025, 32 of the 69 people who drowned (46%), as well as 94 of the 241 total affected (39%), had decided to bathe or approach the coast when pre-alerts and alerts for adverse coastal phenomena were active, decreed by the Government of the Canary Islands. Canarias, 1500 Km de Costa underlines that aquatic accidents in the Canaries during 2025 were marked by tragedy on rocky coastlines, “due mostly to imprudence such as ignoring warning signs and safety recommendations.”
Tenerife’s Rocky Coast and a Decade’s Worst Tragedy
Tenerife’s coastline claimed multiple lives during episodes of heavy swell. This was particularly true during a weekend in November when, within hours of each other, three people died. The victims included a 79-year-old Dutch bather in Puerto de la Cruz, hit by a wave in an incident involving ten people; a man found on El Cabezo beach in Granadilla de Abona; and a 43-year-old fisherman in La Guancha.
The association also highlighted an incident in early December at the Isla Cangrejo natural pool in Los Gigantes, Tenerife, where disregard for safety tape resulted in four tourists dead, one missing, and several others injured to varying degrees. They state this is the worst tragedy in an aquatic environment in the last ten years.
Child Fatalities Reach Ten-Year High
The number of minors who died in 2025 rose to four, the highest in the last decade. The common factor in accidents involving this group was the false sense of security perceived around swimming pools, which often translates into a lack of supervision and vigilance by the adults responsible for them. In the past year, 19 minors suffered an incident in different Canarian aquatic spaces, with four dying (6% of total deaths). Four were left critical, another four seriously injured; five moderately; and one minor and one with minor injuries.
Notable in this area was the disappearance of Arek, the 15-year-old Polish boy swept out to sea in February at Charco del Viento on Tenerife, whose body has still not been located. Drowning prevention expert and president of ‘Canarias, 1500 Km de costa’, Sebastián Quintana, also cited the incident in April at the Lago Taurito water park in Mogán, Gran Canaria, where a two-year-old Italian girl drowned in a crowded pool, which Quintana attributes to the ‘invisible drowning’ syndrome.
Victim Profile and Nationalities
Some 38% (26) of the deaths recorded in 2025 were adult bathers; while 30% (21) were over 60 years old and 26% (18) were victims of unknown age. Furthermore, 74% (51) of the fatalities were male and 25% female (17). By nationality, 17 of the identified deceased were foreigners: British (4), Romanian (3), Polish (2), Italian (2), German (1), Belgian (1), Moroccan (1), Indian (1), Dutch (1), and Slovak (1); while five were unspecified foreigners; four were Spanish and 42 victims were of unknown nationality.
Island-by-Island Breakdown and Accident Locations
The island with the most fatalities was Tenerife, with 24 people drowned in 2025, followed by Gran Canaria (18), Lanzarote (13), Fuerteventura (6), La Gomera (3), El Hierro (3) and La Palma (2). La Graciosa recorded no deaths. In terms of total affected, Tenerife accounted for 42%, followed by Gran Canaria (22%), Lanzarote (15%), and Fuerteventura (12%).
Beaches continue to be the setting with the highest accident rate (50%), followed by harbours/coastal zones (26%), natural pools (16%) and swimming pools (8%). Some 60% of accidents occurred in the afternoon and 28% in the morning. A further 10% were recorded without the time specified and 2% of incidents took place at night.
About the Report
The ‘Canarias, 1500 Km de Costa’ Association compiles this study based on data extracted from official sources related to the emergency services, primarily 112 Canarias, the Guardia Civil, National Police, Maritime Rescue, local police, fire services, and Civil Protection. It is an initiative sponsored by the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, the Elder Museum of Science and Technology, and has the collaboration of the Regional Ministry of Territorial Policy, Territorial Cohesion and Water of the Government of the Canary Islands, the Tourism and City of the Sea departments of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria City Council, and Binter.
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