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A Devon family is raising urgent awareness of the dangers of natural ponds after narrowly avoiding drowning during a trip to the Canary Islands.
Their experience unfolded on Sunday, December 7, in a man-made natural pool in Los Gigantes on the west coast of Tenerife.
The spot is where a series of powerful waves tragically took the lives of four people, while another person is still unaccounted for.
Kai Barrington, 42, Sarah Gellard, 39, from Braunton and their 20-month-old baby, were visiting the popular tourist destination on the same fateful day.
Around 4 p.m., Mr. Barrington entered the water with several other visitors, while Ms. Zellard and her child remained in safe, higher ground.
A few minutes later, a series of large waves hit the shore, engulfing the pool and carrying away a dozen swimmers.
Mr Barrington, an experienced surfer, remained under the wave and clung to the bottom of the pool, which he says saved his life.
He said: “Because I was in a sea pool with the waves crashing and I was falling around a bit, I didn’t really think anything about it. It’s a scenario I’m used to and am comfortable with.
“It was really only when I came up, I think maybe the second time after one of the big waves hit, and I was holding on to the bottom with my fingers, that I realized I was being pulled to the shore.
“I saw two people to my left get pulled aside.”
Ms Zellard, who was sitting a few meters above, saw her partner struggling in the water and being thrown around by the waves as a group of people were being pulled out to sea.
She said: “I started looking out to sea, looking for moss and it’s the most helpless position ever because you can’t do anything, there are no ropes around you, there’s nothing, the emergency services have been called, you can’t do anything but just look at your love in the sea.
“Then I saw someone swimming, I didn’t know who it was because I couldn’t see that far.
“I saw him sink. I saw him swim and make the last stroke, and then not make another stroke.”
A major rescue operation including jet skis and helicoptersThe bodies of a 35-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman and the body of another man whose identity was not released were found.
One woman who was airlifted to hospital died the next day.
The fifth person was never found.
Mr Barrington, who managed to reach safety, was taken to hospital before being released.
The Spanish Archipelago, located off the coast of northwest Africa, has dozens of natural rock pools, some of which have been made accessible to swimmers with concrete walls and stairs.
Surrounded by volcanic rock on one side and cemented by the sea on the other, the pool of Los Gigantes, located a few meters above sea level, is popular with holidaymakers.
According to the couple, the water was calm that day, there were no obvious signs of danger and there were no obstacles preventing entry.
They now want to spread awareness about the dangers of man-made natural ponds, adding that if they had known about the potential harm they would not have taken the risk, especially with a child.
The family said more efforts should be made to inform tourists about possible changes in weather conditions and dangers around such places.
Ms Zellard said: “For those poor families, it didn’t have to happen and they did nothing wrong that day. They did exactly what we did. We went on a sunny day where the sea looked calm.
“When we left, we were shooing people away saying ‘don’t go there, don’t go there’.
“There have been deaths that they might not have even known about because the sea looked so calm. Half an hour later people were walking down with towels over their shoulders.”
Spanish authorities have been contacted for comment.