Emergency helicopter rescues hiker after fall in Los Gigantes cliffs
A 23-year-old foreign hiker is in critical condition after being rescued by an emergency helicopter following a serious accident in the cliffs of Los Gigantes, in the municipality of Santiago del Teide, on Thursday afternoon.
The incident occurred at around 1:09 pm on 22 January 2026, when the Canary Islands’ Emergency Coordination Centre (CECOES) 112 received an alert reporting that a woman had accidentally fallen into a hard-to-reach area while hiking with four other people.
Due to the severity of her injuries and the difficult terrain, a rescue helicopter from the Canary Islands Government’s Emergency and Rescue Group (GES) was immediately dispatched. The helicopter located the injured hiker and airlifted her to the helipad in Adeje.
Upon arrival, medical staff from the Canary Islands Emergency Health Service (SUC) found that the woman was in cardiorespiratory arrest. They carried out both basic and advanced resuscitation manoeuvres, successfully reviving her. Once stabilised, she was transferred in a fully equipped medical ambulance to Nuestra Señora de La Candelaria University Hospital in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where she remains in critical condition.
After completing the initial rescue, the GES helicopter returned to the scene to evacuate the remaining four hikers. They were taken to the helipad in La Guancha, where SUC personnel treated a 21-year-old foreign woman who was suffering from a mild anxiety attack. She was taken to hospital as a precaution, while the other three hikers were unharmed.
The operation involved multiple emergency services, including a GES rescue helicopter, a medical ambulance and a basic life support ambulance from the SUC, the Tenerife Fire Brigade Consortium, the Guardia Civil and local police. Firefighters and police officers assisted on site, while the Guardia Civil has opened an investigation into the circumstances of the accident.
