TenerifeGran CanariaLa PalmaLa GomeraEl HierroLanzaroteFuerteventuraÁrea Metropolitana de Santa Cruz - La LagunaAcentejoValle de La OrotavaIcodDauteSuroeste de TenerifeAbonaValle de GüímarÁrea Metropolitana de Las PalmasCentro Norte de Gran CanariaNoroeste de Gran CanariaOeste de Gran CanariaSuroeste de Gran CanariaSureste de Gran CanariaLa Palma CapitalinaValle de AridaneNoroeste de La PalmaNoreste de La PalmaLa Gomera NorteLa Gomera SurEl Hierro (comarca)Lanzarote NorteLanzarote EsteLanzarote SuroesteFuerteventura NorteFuerteventura CentroFuerteventura SurTenerifeGran CanariaLa PalmaLa GomeraEl HierroLanzaroteFuerteventuraÁrea Metropolitana de Santa Cruz - La LagunaAcentejoValle de La OrotavaIcodDauteSuroeste de TenerifeAbonaValle de GüímarÁrea Metropolitana de Las PalmasCentro Norte de Gran CanariaNoroeste de Gran CanariaOeste de Gran CanariaSuroeste de Gran CanariaSureste de Gran CanariaLa Palma CapitalinaValle de AridaneNoroeste de La PalmaNoreste de La PalmaLa Gomera NorteLa Gomera SurEl Hierro (comarca)Lanzarote NorteLanzarote EsteLanzarote SuroesteFuerteventura NorteFuerteventura CentroFuerteventura Sur
ES|EN
La Voz Canaria logo

La Voz Canaria

Investigation demanded into Guardia Civil officer's death in Tenerife during 'Mv Hondius' operation

AUGC seeks accountability for the participation of a 63-year-old agent in strenuous and potentially contaminated tasks.

Generic image of police emergency lights reflecting on wet asphalt at night.
IA

Generic image of police emergency lights reflecting on wet asphalt at night.

The Unified Association of Guardia Civil (AUGC) has requested an investigation into the death of a 63-year-old officer in Tenerife, which occurred last Sunday during the evacuation operation of the 'Mv Hondius' cruise ship, affected by a hantavirus outbreak.

The Unified Association of Guardia Civil (AUGC) has demanded that the General Directorate of the Guardia Civil conduct an “immediate and transparent” investigation into the death of an officer who participated in the evacuation operation in Tenerife of the cruise ship ‘Mv Hondius’, which was affected by a hantavirus outbreak. The officer, aged 63, died in the line of duty from a heart attack.
The collective calls for “accountability” within the chain of command that allegedly authorized the participation of an officer “on reserve and outside his specialty,” performing tasks supposedly not covered by current regulations. According to AUGC, the institution’s human resource management was “irresponsible” in assigning the agent to a operation requiring over fourteen hours of work, including transport and duties that did not correspond to him, exposing him to “potentially contaminated” materials.
The Guardia Civil officer, who held a vacancy in the Command’s General Staff in Tenerife, was in reserve status, which entails “defined and specific” duties and the avoidance of “risks to his physical integrity.” The integration of the officer into the forward post of the ‘Mv Hondius’ operation, in the union's opinion, exposed him to intense physical exertion and a potentially hazardous environment.
In light of this situation, AUGC has requested the Occupational Risk Prevention Service to open an investigation to determine the legality of assigning the officer to the operation and the potential responsibility of the chain of command. The union does not rule out taking the case to the Public Prosecutor's Office if the investigation's conclusions warrant it.
AUGC has criticized the operation's planning, noting that the ship's arrival in Tenerife was known in advance and a planned, orderly operation respectful of labor regulations should have been organized. Furthermore, the union has been demanding for years that the Guardia Civil recognize age as an occupational risk factor, arguing that a 63-year-old officer cannot be treated the same as a thirty-year-old. They warn that the officer's death “is not an accident,” but a “foreseeable consequence” of a model that ignores its officers' conditions and adapts service loads to age and physical condition.

Related News