Atlantic swells + social media = a deadly cocktail in Lanzarote

Alan Patrick, the American student who drowned on Sunday, was the third person to lose their life at Los Charcones in recent months.

The spectacularly beautiful natural rockpools, located on a shelf of volcanic rock near the abandoned Atlante de Sol hotel near Playa Blanca, have always been dangerous during heavy seas, but their popularity on social media in recent years, combined with this winter’s heavy Atlantic swells, has caused a concerning number of deaths and near-tragedies.

Alan Patrick, who was about to turn 21 years of age, was swept into the sea along with three companions, who were also holidaying on Lanzarote, while bathing in one of the rockpools. A yellow weather warning was in place at the time, and the main dirt tracks to the pools had been fenced off. Two of the students were able to reach dry land by themselves while a third was rescued by emergency helicopter.

The missing young man’s body was retrieved on Tuesday morning by a Guardia Civil dive team. His death was the third at Los Charcones in the last six months, after a 30-year-old local man drowned at the rockpools last August, while a 27-year-old Italian resident also died after being knocked off the rocks while fishing in early December.

At least nine other people have been swept into the sea by waves this winter, although they were fortunate enough to be able to get out of the sea by themselves or be rescued by emergency services.

Sebastián Quintana, of the Canarian anti-drowning campaign 1,500 Kms de Costa, has pointed out that the majority of victims of recent waves on the Canary Islands, including several deaths on Tenerife, have been tourists, and has called for stronger prevention measures, including signposting, fencing off risky areas, lifesaving resources and informing tourists of weather warnings.  

A yellow weather warning for rough seas remains in place until 6pm tonight, while the Canarian Government has also issued an alert, which will remain operative until further notice. 

During the alert, the Lanzarote Security and Emergency Consortium will establish a surveillance system along the entire northwest, west, and southwest coast of Lanzarote and throughout the island of La Graciosa to prevent people from approaching the coastline.

The Cabildo has also re-published the following advice for citizens, to be observed while alerts are in place.

• Do not go to the end of piers or jetties, and do not take photos or videos in zones where waves break.
• Don’t go fishing in risky areas.
• Moor leisure and fishing boats firmly. 
• Don’t go to remote or little-known beaches or areas of the coast, as there may be whirlpools and currents.
• Pay attention to red flags on all beaches facing north, west, south-west and all on the island of La Graciosa.
• Do not bathe on beaches with large waves or strong currents, or those that have no lifesaving facilities. 
• Avoid sporting activities in zones affected by the open sea, and do not camp on the beach during bad weather warnings.
• If you see unusually large waves, stay away from the sea.
• If you see people approaching dangerous zones, warn them of the risks.
• If you fall into the sea, try and get out of the zone where waves break, call for help and await rescue.  

We’d also add that bathers on the sheltered southern coasts should also take care, especially where there are no lifesavers or flags. Even though water may look calm, swells can cause strong currents and tidal races in areas such as the mouths of lagoons.  We observed some strong currents at the Playa Las Anclas near Costa Teguise yesterday afternoon.