Canary Islands Rogue Wave Disaster Tenerife Survivor Accounts

“It sounds ridiculous to say, but it looked like a tsunami was coming,” Jellard, 39, recounted. "Like, the biggest waves I’ve ever seen.”

Jellard was visiting the Canary Islands with her partner, Kai Barrington, and their 20-month-old baby. Barrington was in the pool at the time, while Jellard witnessed the chaos.

“When your partner, your love, is there, and you just see a wall of waves coming over,” Jellard continued. “Oh my gosh, it was awful. And then the next thing you know, it happened so quickly.”

Per the Manchester Evening News, Barrington was a little more experienced than the rest of the people in the pool at the time: “Experienced surfer Kai, stayed under the wave and clung onto the bottom of the pool, which he claimed saved his life.

Jellard added:

“Everyone except for Kai had been…this wave came, crashed over it, and made the biggest crash ever. It took everyone out of the pool, down the rocks and into the sea.”

After multiple drowning incidents in the Canaries due to high surf recently, officials continue to urge caution – especially for visitors who may be unaware of the dangerous conditions.

Mayor Navarro told local news: “It’s impossible at times to make people understand the dangers of the ocean. The tape has to be replaced several times a day in some cases because it gets broken and people even insult police because they don’t want to leave.”