The Plenary Session of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, held this Thursday at Jameos del Agua, approved the motion presented by counselor Santana to promote an Island Plan for Drowning Prevention. The initiative aims to respond to a reality that claims dozens of lives each year in the Archipelago and that particularly affects Lanzarote.
During his speech, Santana recalled that drowning continues to be the leading cause of accidental death in natural environments in the Canary Islands, even surpassing traffic accidents. The islands' characteristics—open sea, favorable climate, and high tourist influx—make this phenomenon a top-tier public safety issue.
To support his proposal, the councilor maintained direct contact with the platform “Canarias, 1500 km de costa,” a benchmark in aquatic accidents. The data provided by this entity highlights the urgency of adopting preventive and coordinated measures.
According to the Canary Islands 2024 Water Accidents Report:72 people died from drowning in the Canary Islands in 2024.9 of those deaths were registered in LanzaroteIn the first half of 2025, 27 deaths have already been recorded in the Archipelago, 10 of them in Lanzarote as of November.70% of the victims were tourists or non-residents, which highlights a serious problem of misinformation48% of incidents took place on beaches"The World Health Organization is clear: prevention must be comprehensive and sustained," Santana pointed out. "As an international tourist destination, we have the responsibility to anticipate, educate, and inform."
A motion approved to reinforce safety in bathing areas
With the motion's approval, the Cabildo will be able to move forward with the implementation of measures aimed at reducing accidents on the coast. The agreement includes urging the Canary Islands Government and the town councils to launch a Drowning Prevention Plan based on:
Clear and multilingual signage on beaches, tidal pools, natural pools, and coastal areasReinforcement of surveillance and rescue services, expanding personnel, hours, and resourcesAwareness campaigns aimed at residents and tourists through media, social networks, accommodations, marinas, and airports.First aid and water safety training in educational centers, sports entities, and tourist accommodationsCoordination with the tourism sector to disseminate daily sea condition alerts and informational materialCreation of an insular registry of aquatic incidents that allows for the design of policies based on real dataMunicipal impetus to develop similar initiatives and allocate specific funds aimed at improving safety in bathing areas
Reinforced collaboration with the hotel and nautical leisure sector, key to informing visitors.
Development of an annual report on water accidents to assess the impact of measures
With this step, Lanzarote moves towards a more robust, preventive coastal security model adapted to its tourist and geographical reality.