British tourist rushed to hospital after smashing into rocks on holiday
A group of British tourists count down a friend who misjudges his leap and crashes onto rocks at a beauty spot in Tenerife.
The 40-year-old man, also thought to be British, was stretchered away from the scene ‘seriously injured’ on Monday after his accident.
Footage of the horror incident emerged overnight, showing a group of men believed to be friends of the holidaymaker counting down from five before he launched himself into the air.
The man, who authorities have described as a foreigner, smashing feet-first onto the rocks around the small sea surface he had intended to jump in.
The witnesses could be overheard reacting immediately as he missed his target and rebounded from the rocks into the water with clear signs his injuries included at least one broken leg.
Some appeared to have performed the same leap moments earlier and were still in the water when he suffered his horrific accident.
The near-tragedy happened around 2pm on Monday at a sea cave called Charco El Tancon in Puerto Santiago in northern Tenerife.
Several holidaymakers have lost their lives at the off-limits cave.
Spanish influencer Marina Rivera Saldana, who has two million followers on Instagram, was criticised for posting photos of her swimming at the spot last September where bathing is prohibited.
It is listed as ‘permanently closed’ on TripAdvisor, where locals warn people not to visit.
Witnesses to Monday’s accident reported seeing a group of tourists filming themselves performing somersaults and diving off the rocks into the open sea before moving over to the spot where the horror accident occurred.
The injured man had been pulled out of the water by the time the emergency services arrived.
A spokesman for a regional emergency services coordinator said after he was rushed to hospital: ‘A 40-year-old foreign man has been taken by ambulance to Hospiten Sur University Hospital.
‘He had several serious lower limb trauma injuries.
‘The first emergency call was received at 2.10pm on Monday, saying the foreign man needed medical assistance after hitting rocks when he jumped into the sea pool at Charco El Tancon.
‘His companions had already got him out of the water by the time the first emergency responders arrived.’
Firefighters took him to a local health centre where he was stabilised before his transfer to hospital.
It was not immediately clear today what his current condition is.
A Canary Islands-based organisation set up to prevent aquatic accidents like Monday’s incident said in an overnight post: ‘El Tancon in Tenerife has once again become tragic news for the most absurd recklessness.’
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