Eight people, including two minors, were injured in an accident on Thursday when a vehicle crashed into a bar terrace on the popular Avenida Nuestra Señora del Carmen, in the tourist town of Corralejo, on Fuerteventura.
The driver who collided with two terraces tested negative for alcohol or drugs, as confirmed by police sources. The man, a British national, was among the eight people evacuated by ambulance from the scene of the incident. “We are working closely with the relevant authorities to clarify what happened and provide our support to the victims and their families at this difficult time,” said Isaí Blanco, mayor of La Oliva.
At the moment, the causes that led him to lose control of the rental car he was driving continue to be investigated. Some possible explanations being analysed by the La Oliva Local Police, include the potential that he suffered some type of blackout before the car suddenly turned and ran over several people who were sitting on the terraces of two premises.
The events took place around 11:27 a.m. this Thursday. According to eyewitnesses, the car was travelling at high speed when the multiple accident took place and ended up, after destroying several tables on the terraces , crashing into a storefront.
From the first moments after the accident, those unharmed at the scene began to care for the others affected while several of them called the emergency services. Expressing gratitude for their quick actions in response to the incident the deputy inspector of the Local Police of La Oliva, Jorge Fleitas said “Your immediate and disinterested response has been crucial in this situation. Your solidarity shows the strength of our community in difficult times,”.
Large deployment
The Canary Islands 112 Emergency and Security Coordinating Centre (CECOES) deployed a large operation to care for those affected in the multiple accident, which included two medical ambulances, three basic life support ambulances and two medical helicopters from the Canary Islands Emergency Service (SUC), two paediatricians, two doctors and two nurses from the Corralejo Health Centre, a helicopter from the Emergency and Rescue Group (GES), La Oliva Firefighters and agents from the La Oliva Local Police and the Guardia Civil.
To facilitate care of the injured on the basis of severity of the injuries, the health personnel of the SUC and the La Oliva Health Centre triaged the injured at the scene of the incident, giving priority to the most seriously injured. Meanwhile, the helicopters landed at the nearby Vicente Carreño soccer field waiting to proceed with the first transfers to hospital.
Eight Injured Including driver
A four-month-old girl was injured with serious multiple trauma and, after receiving initial assistance to stabilise her delicate condition, she was transferred to the soccer field for evacuation in the GES helicopter, together with a paediatrician and a nurse from the La Oliva Health Centre, headed to the General Hospital of Fuerteventura . Once there, it was decided to transfer her in a medical helicopter from the SUC to the Maternal and Child University Hospital of the Canary Islands, where she was admitted in serious condition.
An 18-year-old woman was transferred in a medicalised ambulance to the General Hospital of Fuerteventura after presenting severe multiple trauma. Upon arriving, health personnel decided to also immediately evacuate her, in a SUC medical helicopter, to the Insular University Hospital of Gran Canaria due to the severity of the injuries she presented.
The other three seriously injured, two men, one 40 and one 43 years old, and a 49-year-old woman, also had serious multiple trauma and were evacuated to the General Hospital of Fuerteventura. The 40-year-old was taken in a basic life support ambulance accompanied by a doctor and a nurse from the health centre, the 43-year-old affected was transported in a medical helicopter and the woman in a medical ambulance.
A five-year-old girl was evacuated to the hospital in the capital of Fuerteventura in an SUC basic life support ambulance along with a paediatrician and a nurse from the health centre, with various moderate injuries. Two others injured were a 40-year-old man and another 50-year-old man who had moderate trauma. They too were transferred to the General Hospital of Fuerteventura in basic life support ambulances accompanied by doctors and nurses from the health centre.
The mayor of La Oliva City Council, Isaí Blanco, announced in a statement that they will look at how they might take “the necessary measures to prevent similar situations in the future.”
