A bus carrying British tourists plunged down a ravine after coming off a road on the Canary island of La Gomera – a 77-year-old British national has been killed
A man has died and 27 people have been injured after a bus carrying British tourists crashed in the Canary Islands.
The vehicle plunged down a ravine after coming off the GM-2 on the island of La Gomera. Pictures from the scene show the vehicle on its side several feet from the main road, near a tunnel.
A Civil Guard spokesperson confirmed the man who died was a 77-year-old British national. A 73-year-old man and a 42-year-old man who suffered traumatic injuries were transferred by helicopter to hospitals in Tenerife, officials said.
The accident happened around 1.15pm local time after the bus came off the road at a bend. The driver reportedly said his brakes failed. The bus then collided with the back of a Toyota pick-up truck before plunging off the road.
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A statement from Canary Island emergency services said: “Health officials have confirmed a man has died, three have been injured seriously and 11 moderately. The Canary Islands Emergency Service has sent to the scene of the accident a medicalised helicopter, five ambulances and a medical team including nurses.”
A receptionist at El Balcon de Santa Ana, the resort in Playa de Santiago where the holidaymakers had stayed, confirmed all the passengers on the bus were British. She said: “They had left the hotel to head to Tenerife on the ferry. They were all British.” There were 24 adults on the vehicle along with three children and the driver. A total of 27 were taken to hospital.
The vehicle belongs to a firm called Gomera Tours, which offers excursions around the islands, as well as airport, port and hotel transfers. The firm has insisted all its vehicles are “up to date” with inspections. A spokesman told an island paper they were also unaware of any incident or complaint from their drivers regarding that stretch of road, which in less than a year has seen two fatal accidents involving buses.
The GM-2 road connects the capital San Sebastian with the rest of La Gomera, the second-smallest of the main islands in Spain’s Canary Island chain.
Civil Guard officers are at the scene and investigating the cause of the accident. Police are examining marks on the road for signs of skidding.
UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said her thoughts are with those affected by the “tragic” incident, adding the Government is in touch with local authorities and “ready to support” Britons and their families.
She said: “My thoughts are with those affected by the tragic incident involving a bus carrying British holidaymakers in the Canary Islands.
“We are in touch with the local authorities & ready to support Brits & their families, who can contact the FCDO on +44 20 7008 5000 or +34 928 262 508.”
A regional government emergency response coordination centre said this afternoon: “The Government of the Canary Islands, through the General Directorate of Emergencies, has declared an alert situation due to a multi-casualty accident in La Gomera starting at 2pm today, Friday, April 10.
“This decision is adopted based on the situation that has occurred and in application of the Territorial Emergency Plan for Civil Protection of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands (PLATECA).”
Canary Islands president Fernando Clavijo said on X: “Following the accident of a bus reported in La Gomera and the work of the emergency teams who are intervening at this moment. My support to the victims and their families”
Angel Victor Torres, Minister for Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, said: “Tragic news in La Gomera, with the confirmation of one person deceased. Very attentive to the actions in these first moments of the emergency services and the healthcare personnel. With a heavy heart. May there be no more victims.”
