HORRIFYING footage has captured the moment a ‘giant’ wave swept away dozens of tourists in Tenerife, leaving four dead and one missing.
A British onlooker can be heard gasping ‘they’re panicking’ as the three-metre wall of water crashes into the Charco de Isla Cangrejo natural pool in Los Gigantes.
The tragic incident occurred on Sunday when around 20 bathers were defying an official closure order to swim in the popular beauty spot.
Two of the deceased have been identified as Romanian nationals, while a third was Slovakian. Police are still working to identify the fourth victim.
Emergency services, including the Guardia Civil and a helicopter rescue team, rushed to the scene but could not save the group in time.
The video shows dozens of tourists clinging to rocks or scrambling for safety as a massive wave crashes into the natural pool, turning the calm waters into a dangerous washing machine.
Onlookers scream as the surge drags swimmers across the sharp volcanic rocks, with one witness shouting ‘Oh my god, someone else has gone in’ as the relentless set of waves batter the beauty spot.
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Mayor Emilio Navarro confirmed the area had been cordoned off two days before the disaster due to a ‘coastal pre-alert’, with waves forecast to reach three metres.
Multilingual signs in Spanish, English and German warned of the danger, but tourists reportedly ignored them and even tore down the barriers to access the water.
It comes just a month after a similar tragedy in the same municipality on November 8, when three people died and 15 were injured by freak waves.
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Critics have blamed ‘social media promotion’ for luring tourists to the dangerous Atlantic spots, where unpredictable swells are far more deadly than the calmer Mediterranean.
Several other bathers suffered bruising and injuries as they were battered against the volcanic rocks during the chaos.
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