1 November 2009

Another fatal beach rockfall – this time in Spain

Posted by Dave Petley

In August this year a rockfall on a beach in Portugal killed five people and injured four others. Unfortunately the newspapers in the UK are this evening reporting that a similar rockfall occurred today on a beach at Playa de los Gigantes in western Tenerife in Spain, killing a British woman and a local woman. The Telegraph has a report and picture (below) of the incident:


Coastal cliffs unfortunately are prone to erosion and thus to rockfalls. News reports suggest that access to this section of beach had been blocked due to an earlier event. Sadly, many people do not seem to appreciate that rockfalls can occur at any time , including in good weather.