British survivors of fatal bus crash in Canary Islands tell GB News of 'terrifying' ordeal

Will Godley
Sun, 12 Apr 2026 05:01:01 +0000

An elderly British couple who survived a bus crash in the Canary Islands have told GB News the incident felt "like something out of a film".

They described feeling time slow down as they were hurtling down the hill, after their bus veered off a busy road on La Gomera.

"The bus did two somersaults down the cliff. Luckily, we were strapped in, but when the bus stopped, we were hanging upside down," they said.

The couple said they felt like they were the "lucky ones… walking away with only bruises".

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Some 27 Britons were on board the bus when it crashed on the island of La Gomera on Friday.

They were travelling back to Tenerife to catch a flight home after their Easter holidays when disaster struck.

The bus left the windy hill-top road at a hairpin bend and rolled about 20 metres before stopping.

A 77-year-old man died in the incident, while five other British tourists remained in hospital on Saturday.

A total of 21 British tourists have been discharged from hospital and are staying at a 4-star hotel near La Gomera’s capital, San Sebastian, while waiting to return to the UK.

Another survivor told GB News the bus crash was "terrifying".

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One family told GB News they were on two separate buses back to the airport.

The daughter and son-in-law made it safely to the airport in Tenerife and caught their flight.

They only found out that the bus their mother was on the crashed bus when they landed back in Britain.

The couple have now flown back out to La Gomera to be with their mother, who was badly injured in the crash.

Spanish officials are continuing their investigation into the cause of the crash, with mechanical failure as one of their theories at this stage.

"Emergency health services attended to the 28 occupants of the bus, 27 tourists of British nationality and the driver," a local government spokesman said yesterday.

In an update around 6.30pm local time, a Civil Guard spokesman said: "The man who died in the bus crash in La Gomera is a 77-year-old British national."

Angel Victor Torres, Minister for Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, added: "Tragic news in La Gomera, with the confirmation of one person deceased.

"Very attentive to the actions in these first moments of the emergency services and the healthcare personnel.

"With a heavy heart. May there be no more victims."