Three killed in Tenerife tidal surge sweeping tourists into the ocean

Three people were killed on the Spanish island of Tenerife after a tidal surge caused strong waves to pull them into the ocean on Sunday afternoon.

Shortly after 4 pm local time (5 pm CET), authorities received an alert that several people had fallen into the water after being "surprised by a wave" in a natural pool at the Los Gigantes cliffs, according to the Emergency and Rescue Group of the Government of the Canary Islands, GES.

Three more people were rescued and transported to local hospitals, and one remains missing.

According to the GES and local authorities, two of the victims were 35 and 55 years old. No further information is yet available about the third person.

It has not yet been confirmed whether there were any tourists among the victims. The nationalities have not yet been clarified.

One person suffered a cardiac arrest on the cliffs. The victim was immediately given emergency medical treatment, resuscitated on site and then taken to a nearby hospital, newspaper Diario de Avisos reported.

After the wave, sea rescuers, a rescue helicopter and several vehicles from the fire brigade, ambulance service and police were on the scene. Rescue workers searched for the missing person until late in the evening.

In a similar incident last month, three people lost their lives and a further 15 were injured in different parts of the island.

The incident occurred on the Roque de Las Bodegas beach in Taganana, where six French tourists were hit by large waves and fell into the water.

Local police sources confirmed that those affected were swept away after ignoring a preventive buoy installed in the area.