Two accidents leave one dead and one injured

Two separate accidents this weekend left one dead and one injured on La Gomera. 

First a local man in his eighties from the Arguamul area in La Gomera's north-west was reported missing by his family when he failed to return home late on Friday. Yesterday his body was discovered below a precipice near the chapel of Santa Clara, but the abrupt terrain made the recovery of his body extremely difficult, and only efforts by specialised mountain rescue teams finally resulted in recovering the corpse later on Saturday. The octogenarian was well known and respected in La Gomera, particularly for his reliable regular ringing of the the bells of the chapel of Santa Clara.

Arguamul seen from near Santa Clara

In a separate incident a 62-year-old woman who was out hiking in Valle Gran Rey suffered a fall and a suspected knee fracture. She had to be rescued by the GES helicopter and was transferred to the hospital in San Sebastian de La Gomera where she was said to be recovering from her injuries.

GES Search & Rescue helicopter in action (archive image)