New Safety Task Force Formed After Fatal Incidents
The Canary Islands government has launched a urgent initiative to improve safety communications for tourists, following several fatal drowning incidents. On 7 December, four tourists drowned after being swept out to sea by a large wave in Los Gigantes, Tenerife. This tragedy occurred just a month after three cruise ship passengers also drowned at the Puerto de la Cruz pier on the same island.
Drownings Are Leading Cause of Unnatural Death
These are not isolated events. On Tuesday, the Councillor for Territorial Policy, Manuel Miranda, stated in Parliament that “drownings are the leading cause of unnatural death in the Islands.” So far this year, 60 people have died in such incidents, the majority of whom were foreign nationals. In response, the Ministries of Tourism and Territorial Policy established a dedicated task force on 12 December.
Direct Communication with 270,000 Weekly Tourists
The group’s primary goal is to coordinate the direct communication of emergency alerts and pre-alerts to the 270,000 tourists who visit the islands each week. This action precedes a future Civil Protection law, which will include specific multilingual information protocols for tourists during emergencies. “We must establish stable communication channels with the involvement of the sector, which we know is fully committed to this objective,” responded Miranda, who is also responsible for emergencies, to a direct question from conservative MP Carlos Ester.
Two-Phase Plan for Clear Multilingual Alerts
The task force will operate in two phases. The first phase involves creating shared information spaces between ministries, simplifying warning messages, and developing an updated distribution list agreed upon with tourism operators themselves. In the second phase, the group will design protocols to ensure alerts reach visitors “clearly and in their own languages.” It will also analyse how to integrate new information technologies into risk communications.
Focus on Education and Future Legislation
Councillor Miranda also stressed that the local population must continue to be the target of “information campaigns and communication through conventional media.” He insisted on the need to deepen “the training of young people, from childhood, so they understand how the sea works and its tides, for example.” Regarding the future Canary Islands Civil Protection System law, he confirmed that professionals are already being consulted on how to assess risks in tourist areas, develop specific communication and alert protocols for these zones, and integrate self-protection plans into tourist environments.
112 Data Reveals Scale of Foreign Language Calls
Official figures from Miranda’s ministry confirm the pressing need for improved communication. So far this year, the 112 Emergency and Security Coordinating Centre (Cecoes) has handled 17,891 calls in languages other than Spanish—an increase of 8.36% from 2024. English is the predominant language (67%), followed by German (14.5%), Italian (11.4%), and French (6.2%). The remainder are distributed among Russian, Arabic, Polish, and Romanian. Data from the Vice-Ministry of Emergencies shows that over 40% of alerts involving tourists are safety-related, nearly 31% concern health issues, 12.48% are accident-related, and almost 10% are requests for information.
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