13 injured as ferry slams into breakwater in Canary Islands [WATCH]
by The Associated Press
The 17,000 tonne ferry smashed into a concrete breakwater after what the company called a "loss of electrical power"
MADRID—Thirteen ferry passengers were injured when the boat slammed into a breakwater in a port on the Canary Islands, Spanish authorities said April 22.
Manolo Vidal, spokesman for Naviera Armas, the company that owns the ferry, says that a “loss of electrical power” caused the accident as the boat was leaving the Puerta de la Luz on the island of Gran Canaria Friday night.
Emergency services say five of the injured needed to receive attention at a hospital.
Televised images showed the ferry hitting the breakwater head-on, sending chunks of the concrete wall tumbling down onto a service road.
The regional government says it has activated an emergency plan to deal with the 3-kilometre (two-mile) fuel spill caused when the boat’s impact damaged fuel lines running along the breakwater.
The company says that the ferry was able to dock following the accident and that the passengers had been placed in hotels.
Watch the ferry collide with the concrete breakwater:
