A day of play among friends ended in heartbreak in Santa Cruz, Tenerife, after a 13-year-old girl tragically fell to her death from an abandoned hotel. The incident occurred on Thursday afternoon at a derelict 20-story structure that has loomed over the community for decades.
The young girl was reportedly with three other children when she fell from what police believe was the fifth floor. Her friends immediately raised the alarm. Emergency services, including police officers, rushed to the scene on the rocky coastline and made desperate attempts to resuscitate her, but her injuries were fatal. The child was believed to be a resident of the local Añaza area, though her nationality has not yet been officially released.
A Notorious Landmark with a Deadly History
The building at the center of this tragedy is the Hotel Añaza. It is a structure with a dark reputation. Known to locals as the “Añaza monstrosity,” the hotel has been empty for more than 50 years, a skeletal frame left to decay by the sea. Its hazardous condition is well-documented, with open lift shafts, unsecured windows, and crumbling infrastructure making it a significant danger to anyone who enters.
This is not the first life the building has claimed. The teenager’s death marks the fifth fatality recorded at the cliff-top hotel, a grim statistic that has amplified calls for its demolition. The site has long been a magnet for curious youths and urban explorers, drawn by its imposing presence despite the obvious risks. The structure stands as a stark and dangerous monument to stalled development, a problem that has now resulted in another preventable loss of life.
Community Outrage and Calls for Action
The girl’s death has sent shockwaves through the Añaza community, quickly turning grief into anger. Residents are demanding that authorities finally address the long-standing danger posed by the abandoned hotel. The feeling is that this tragedy was not just an accident but the inevitable outcome of years of inaction.
Furious locals insist that something must be done immediately to prevent anyone else from getting hurt or killed. According to reports from Diario de Avisos, the community is united in its call for the site to be secured and the demolition process, which has been pending, to be expedited. The sentiment was clear.
Furious locals say “urgent action” should be taken.
The building represents a failure to protect the public, particularly the area’s children, who see the towering wreck as a place to explore. The calls for action are not just about removing a dangerous structure; they are about ensuring a tragedy like this never happens again.
Homicide Unit Launches Full Investigation
A full investigation is now underway to determine the exact circumstances surrounding the teenager’s death. The case has been assigned to the National Police Homicide Unit, a standard procedure for unattended deaths of this nature. Investigators are working to piece together the events that led to the fall, with an initial focus on witness statements from the children who were with the victim.
Key details of the investigation include:
- Confirming the exact point of the fall, believed to be the fifth floor.
- Assessing the building’s structural failures and specific hazards.
- Interviewing all witnesses to create a clear timeline of the incident.
- Determining how the children gained access to the supposedly closed-off site.
Police have confirmed their initial assessment is that the girl fell from the fifth floor onto the rocks below. As the investigation continues, a community mourns the loss of a young life, left to wonder why a known danger was allowed to persist for so long.