90% of Drowning Deaths Occurred During Alert Episodes

Twenty people lost their lives to drowning in the Canary Islands during the first four months of 2026, surpassing the 19 deaths recorded in the same period of 2025. The figures come from the association “Canarias, 1500 km de Costa”, which works on preventing aquatic accidents.

Overall figures

62 people have been affected by aquatic accidents so far in 2026, a 27 % increase over the 49 cases recorded last year.
20 fatalities have been recorded; 90 % of them happened while the sea was under a pre‑alert or alert issued by the Canary Islands Government because of adverse coastal conditions.
In April alone, besides the fatality, there were 4 critical, 3 serious, 2 moderate injuries and 2 rescued unharmed.
A total of 30 injured persons have been treated: 7 critical, 8 serious, 7 moderate, 8 minor, plus 12 rescues who emerged unscathed.

Demographics

14 men and 6 women.
Age distribution: 9 adults, 7 of unknown age, 3 over 60, and 1 minor.
Nationalities of the identified victims: 2 Germans, 1 American, 1 Venezuelan, 1 Belgian, 1 Norwegian, 3 Spaniards, and 3 unspecified foreigners. Eight cases lacked any nationality information.

Types of incidents

7 “other” cases (people who fell into the water from a pier, cliff, promenade, or were hit by a wave; includes paragliders, pilots or crew of vessels).
6 swimmers, 2 divers, 2 fishermen.
3 victims had no recorded activity at the time of the incident.

By island

Tenerife leads with 9 deaths.
Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, and El Hierro each recorded 3 deaths.
Lanzarote and La Gomera had 1 death each.
La Palma and La Graciosa reported no fatalities.

Time and location of incidents

50 % of fatal accidents occurred in the afternoon, 20 % in the morning, 5 % at night, and 25 % have no time data.
57 % of the cases happened on beaches, followed by ports/coastal zones (26 %), natural pools (11 %), and swimming pools (6 %).

Sources and sponsorship

The study draws on official data from emergency services (112 Canarias), the Guardia Civil, National Police, Maritime Rescue, local police, firefighters, and civil protection. It is sponsored by the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, the Elder Museum of Science and Technology, the Canary Islands Government’s Department of Territorial Policy, Cohesion and Water, the Vice‑Department of Physical Activity and Sports, as well as the tourism and maritime departments of the Las Palmas City Council and the airline **Binter