One dead and several injured in fuel tank explosion at Telde industrial estate

A fuel tank explosion at the Salinetas industrial estate in Telde (Gran Canaria), which occurred at around 12:09 on Wednesday, left one worker dead and several others injured, according to figures provided by the Policía Nacional, the Ayuntamiento de Telde and the site's owner, Disa.

The Centro Coordinador de Emergencias y Seguridad (CECOES) 112 received the first call at 12:09–12:10, reporting either a column of smoke — according to some sources — or an explosion — according to others — at Disa's plant in the estate. The accident occurred while several workers were carrying out maintenance tasks on a storage tank.

Casualty figures: conflicting accounts

The number of injured varies depending on the source and the time of the report. In the first provisional tallies, both the Ayuntamiento de Telde and the Policía Nacional spoke of one fatality and two seriously injured, one of whom was transported unconscious (as reported by Europa Press, elDía and La Provincia).

Late in the afternoon, the site's owner confirmed to the Agencia EFE that a third person had suffered minor injuries and did not require hospitalisation. On that basis, outlets including eldiario.es, Público and RTVC put the toll at one dead and three injured. Disa said it was carrying out "close monitoring of the condition of the three injured".

According to details of the transfers, two injured workers were taken to hospitals in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: one to the Hospital Universitario Insular in a serious condition, and another to the Hospital Doctor Negrín. Canarias7 reported that the latter had already been discharged. The third worker affected did not require admission.

The workers and the company

According to Disa, all those affected were employees of the company Nervión Industries, which was carrying out routine maintenance operations at the facility. Canarias7 identified the victim as a 35-year-old resident of the Telde neighbourhood of Caserones; elDía reported the name Nico Rodríguez, "just over 30 years old", according to a family member. Other sources, such as moncloa.com, gave different ages — 47 and 26 — which were inconsistent with each other and with local media reports.

The mayor of Telde, Juan Antonio Peña, told Radio Televisión Canaria that the workers "were carrying out work at height and something happened — an explosion was triggered that was heard loudly across the Salinetas and Melenara area". Witnesses cited by several outlets observed that two of those affected were left momentarily suspended from their harnesses or ropes beneath the tank platform.

Causes under investigation

The cause of the explosion had not been officially determined at the time of writing. Sources consulted by Europa Press indicated that two workers had been at the top of one of the tanks carrying out welding work — a hypothesis that the investigation will need to confirm. The Policía Nacional is investigating the incident as a workplace accident, in cooperation with the relevant labour authority, and began taking statements from workers and witnesses.

Disa's communications director, Sara Mateos, stated that "the emergency is under control" and that "there is no risk to people in the surrounding area". Disa said it was offering "its full cooperation" to clarify the circumstances and conveyed its condolences to the family of the worker who died.

Emergency response and emergency plan

Units from the Consorcio de Emergencias de Gran Canaria attended the scene with two rapid-response vehicles, along with two paramedic ambulances and one medical transport unit from the Servicio de Urgencias Canario (SUC), as well as the Policía Nacional, the Policía Local de Telde and Protección Civil.

Hours after the incident, the Gobierno de Canarias declared an alert under the Plan Especial de Emergencia Exterior por Riesgo de Accidentes Graves con Sustancias Peligrosas (RISQCAN) to coordinate and monitor the response. The Ayuntamiento de Telde asked residents to avoid travelling to the area around the estate so as not to obstruct emergency vehicle access, and urged them to follow only official channels for information.