Search team rescue dogs verify that no-one was caught in La Gomera landslide

Search team rescue dogs have been able to confirm there were no casualties in Saturday’s rockfall.  All residents living near where a massive landslide yesterday afternoon occurred, the area known as Argaga on the west coast of La Gomera island, have now been located, the local Cabildo (island government) has announced, along with all visitors known to have been in the area yesterday where a cliff spectacularly collapsed into the sea.

The search was carried out using specially trained rescue dogs  by the volunteers of the AEA Emergency Rescue Unit, while nearby accommodation in the municipality of Valle Gran Rey was also visited, to locate anyone who might have been at the sandy beach of Playa Las Arenas in Argaga yesterday, part of the neighbouring Vallehermoso municipality but which is accessed along a road from Valle Gran Rey.

Having confirmed that no-one is missing, work in the area will now focus the work on stabilising the cliff face and on seeking alternatives that allow communication in this nucleus of the Vallehermoso municipality.

The collapse occurred yesterday afternoon sparking an emergency operation coordinated by the Island Cabildo, with cooperation from the local councils of Vallehermoso and Valle Gran Rey, Protección Civil, Volunteer Firefighters, Road Maintenance Services, Guardia Civil, Policía Local, Red Cross, the SUC Canary Islands Emergency Service and three GES helicopters.

Evacuations from the area were ordered, the Government of the Canary Islands activated their PLATECA Territorial Emergency Plan for Civil Protection along with several more deployments to the island including the Policía Canaria, the Red Cross, the AEA search team and rescue dogs as well as members of the GES (Grupo de Emergencias y Salvamento de Canarias).