Two people have been injured following a paragliding accident in the south of Tenerife, which led to a major emergency operation involving a rescue helicopter, after they crashed in an area that was difficult for rescuers to reach.
The accident happened at the Taucho paragliding take-off area in Adeje, at approximately 5:00pm on Thursday afternoon, according to reports from the Canary Islands emergency coordination centre (CECOES).
The emergency call centre received a 112 alert reporting that two paragliders, aged 64 and 22, had suffered a fall and required urgent assistance, and dispatched firefighters, medical teams and a rescue helicopter due to the location of the accident.
Firefighters reach injured paragliders
Firefighters were tasked with locating the casualties and organising their rescue from the difficult terrain.
After reaching the two injured people, they were able to extract them from the area where they had come down, so that they could be airlifted to the Adeje helipad, where ambulances and SUC medical personnel were waiting to tend to them.
64-year-old suffered multiple injuries
Medical teams assessed and treated both casualties after the helicopter landed in Adeje.
The 64-year-old man was found to have suffered multiple injuries, which were initially assessed as moderate, and after receiving treatment, he was transferred by ambulance to Hospitén Sur hospital for further medical care.
The second casualty, aged 22, was also injured in the accident and required assistance from the emergency services.
The precise circumstances surrounding the accident, including what caused the paragliders to fall, have not been confirmed.
Taucho, above the Adeje area in the south of Tenerife, is well known as a take-off point for paragliding, with flights regularly taking place over the municipality and towards the coast.
