Horror moment Tenerife tourist killed in terrifying beach incident

Dutch tourist killed by huge wave in Tenerife

This is the horror moment a Dutch tourist is killed and nine other people are injured after being swept into the sea in Tenerife by a huge wave. The shocking footage showed they were clearly putting their lives in danger by standing where they were on the seawall at the northern port city of Puerto de la Cruz.

A woman could be heard yelling in Spanish: "Look, look, look, now, now" as the wave approached and knocked both the four people standing on the upper part of the protective wall and a larger group below them into the water. Some were on the stairs between the two when the wave came crashing over them. One social media user - commenting before it was confirmed three people among those hurt had been seriously injured and a 79-year-old Dutch cruise passenger had died - said: "I hope they all made it".

Footage has captured the moment and Dutch tourist was killed and nine others were injured (Image: Getty)

The tragedy occurred around 3pm on Saturday (November 8), whilst a weather alert was in place warning people to stay away from the sea due to the size and force of the waves.

Two other people were killed on the same day in Tenerife after getting into difficulties in the water, with officials confirming one was a fisherman who had also been swept into the ocean by a large wave at a natural complex of pools called Charco del Viento, a short drive west of Puerto de la Cruz.

Pedro Lopez, a waiter working near the scene of the tragedy where the unnamed Dutch pensioner was killed, and who risked his life by jumping into the water to save some of the casualties, said: “Normally when a pre-alert is in place there’s a barrier that’s always closed preventing access to the area where this occurred.

“I don’t know what happened but the barrier was left open.”

A barrier was not in place to prevent access to the area where the tragedy occurred (Image: supplied)

He told a Canary Islands radio station: “The barrier was open and what happened happened. I saw eight people on top of the wall and the first wave didn’t reach them. The second wave threw them on the ground and swept them away.

"I began to run and I saw three people screaming for help and took my clothes off and jumped into the water. It was nerve-wracking but I’m okay and I could get them out.

"What people on holiday want is entertainment and it’s entertaining to see waves of up to 15 feet, but it can also be very deadly.

"The barrier should have been in place to stop them being where they were."

A 43-year-old local man was also killed at Charco del Viento, Tenerife (Image: Getty)

The incident in which a 43-year-old man lost his life at Charco del Viento occurred just before 4.45pm on Saturday. Local reports described him as a local living in nearby La Orotava who was fishing when he was swept into the sea. A helicopter was scrambled to rescue him and brought him to the docks in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, but he was confirmed dead due to the severity of the injuries he had suffered.

The age and nationality of the third man killed has not yet been disclosed. He was said to have been in cardiac arrest when he was pulled out of the sea at El Cabezo beach in Granadilla, south-west Tenerife, at around 2pm on Saturday.

On Saturday, six French tourists were also injured in Tenerife after being swept into the sea as they wave-watched in Roque de las Bodegas on the island’s north-east tip.