Diver killed in windsurfer collision on Gran Canaria
UPDATED: A Russian woman died on Monday after being hit in the neck by the board of a professional Swiss windsurfer on the popular tourist island.
The accident happened at around 2.45pm on Monday afternoon in Santa Lucía de Tirajana, on the south east coast of the Spanish holiday island of Gran Canaria.
The unnamed woman, 31, who had been living in Spain "for a number of years", was scuba diving for shellfish in an area known as Cueva Laya in Forma bay, when the accident occurred.
She was not using a buoy to signal her position, Nieves Garcia, the town’s councillor in charge of security, confirmed to Spanish news agency Efe.
Emergency services were alerted that a woman was bleeding after being hit by a windsurfer and could only confirm her death, due to the severity of the cut she had received to the neck.
The windsurfer, reported to be a 41-year-old Swiss professional windsurfer by regional daily La Provincia, was admitted to El Doctoral medical centre suffering an anxiety attack following the accident.
The athlete, named only by his initials R.D, was apparently in the Canary Islands to try out new equipment in the lead-up to a pro-windsurfing event which begins on July 24th in Fuerteventura.
R.D had recently claimed a Swiss windsurfing record, Switzerland's Blick newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Officers from Spain's Civil Guard said on Tuesday they would not press charges relating to the incident., with initial investigations suggesting the diver had accidentally strayed into the area set aside for windsurfers.
Both windsurfing and scuba diving are permitted in Forma bay, which is a popular spot for watersport enthusiasts on the south coast of the island.
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The accident happened at around 2.45pm on Monday afternoon in Santa Lucía de Tirajana, on the south east coast of the Spanish holiday island of Gran Canaria.
The unnamed woman, 31, who had been living in Spain "for a number of years", was scuba diving for shellfish in an area known as Cueva Laya in Forma bay, when the accident occurred.
She was not using a buoy to signal her position, Nieves Garcia, the town’s councillor in charge of security, confirmed to Spanish news agency Efe.
Emergency services were alerted that a woman was bleeding after being hit by a windsurfer and could only confirm her death, due to the severity of the cut she had received to the neck.
The windsurfer, reported to be a 41-year-old Swiss professional windsurfer by regional daily La Provincia, was admitted to El Doctoral medical centre suffering an anxiety attack following the accident.
The athlete, named only by his initials R.D, was apparently in the Canary Islands to try out new equipment in the lead-up to a pro-windsurfing event which begins on July 24th in Fuerteventura.
R.D had recently claimed a Swiss windsurfing record, Switzerland's Blick newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Officers from Spain's Civil Guard said on Tuesday they would not press charges relating to the incident., with initial investigations suggesting the diver had accidentally strayed into the area set aside for windsurfers.
Both windsurfing and scuba diving are permitted in Forma bay, which is a popular spot for watersport enthusiasts on the south coast of the island.
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