Five die in Tenerife flash floods

Five people were killed in Tenerife as torrential rains triggered mudslides and flash floods as high as traffic lights, sweeping away cars and toppling walls and trees.

Thirty people were injured and taken to hospitals on the Spanish holiday island that were struggling to function yesterday, despite power cuts.

Santa Cruz mayor Miguel Zerolo told the Spanish news agency Efe that the dead included a young girl who was crushed by a falling wall. Two men who ventured out in a four-wheel drive vehicle to save family members died in the attempt.

The floods made roads across the island impassable, stranding thousands of people who were returning to Santa Cruz, the island’s capital, after the Easter holiday, Efe said. Many people unable to reach their homes or whose houses were flooded spent the night in a convention centre.

The storm also left 50,000 island residents without electricity, the news agency reported. It added that Zerolo had asked the army to maintain order and urged citizens to stay indoors.

It was not clear if the floods also hit major hotel areas on Tenerife.