New drowning in Cofete, helicopter evacuation, victim in critical condition

A man of about 60 years old was transferred in critical condition on Monday to the General Hospital of Fuerteventura after being rescued from the water at Cofete beach, in the municipality of Pájara, according to the Emergency and Security Coordination Center (CECOES) 112.

The emergency call was received at 16:09, reporting that a man had been pulled from the sea showing signs of drowning. 112 activated a medicalized ambulance, a basic life‑support ambulance and the medical helicopter of the Canary Islands Emergency Service (SUC), while also dispatching firefighters from Pájara and the Local Police.

Medical personnel attended the victim on site, stabilized him and then evacuated him by the SUC medical helicopter to the island’s hospital. Firefighters and Local Police assisted the health teams during the operation; no further details on the patient’s condition have been released yet.

Three Drowning Deaths in Fuerteventura So Far This Year

The incident adds to a series of drowning and water‑related accidents that have been recorded on Fuerteventura, one of the Canary Islands with the highest submersion mortality rate. According to the Asociación Canarias, 1500 Km de Costa, in the first quarter of 2026 the island already recorded three deaths, the same figure as Gran Canaria and El Hierro, and only behind Tenerife, which had eight, within a regional tally of 19 deaths and 50 injured.

• In 2025, Fuerteventura logged 28 people affected by water accidents, of whom six died, according to the tenth edition of the Mapa de Accidentes Acuáticos de Canarias compiled by Canarias, 1500 Km de Costa.
• The 2025 balance also includes 17 injured of varying severity and five rescues, spread across 22 beaches and coastal points in four municipalities on the island.