UPDATED:
Spanish emergency teams on Thursday recovered the body of a sixth young person after a coastal walkway collapsed near the northern city of Santander, as the city’s mayor spoke of the ‘unimaginable’ pain caused by the tragedy (see earlier full report below).
The accident happened on Tuesday when a wooden footbridge spanning two cliffs suddenly gave way, sending a group of young people plunging into the sea below. Five were killed in the fall, another was taken to hospital suffering from hypothermia, and one young woman had been reported missing.
Rescue crews launched a major search operation involving helicopters, boats, drones and police divers to locate the missing victim.
‘Unimaginable for all of us who are parents,’ Santander mayor Gema Igual wrote on X. Speaking to reporters at the site, she said the victim’s family had faced a ‘cruel’ wait before they could finally say goodbye.
Original full report:
Five people have died and one remains missing after a footbridge collapsed at a beach in northern Spain.
The victims had been crossing a wooden walkway at El Bocal beach near the city of Santander (Cantabria) when the structure suddenly gave way at around 4.30pm on Tuesday.
All of them plunged into the water and onto the rocks below after part of the bridge, which reportedly linked two cliffs, collapsed beneath them.
Local reports say the walkers were all ‘young women aged between 19 and 22’, though their nationalities have not yet been confirmed.
One of the victims was initially pulled from the water alive and taken to hospital suffering from hypothermia. She later died in intensive care.
While five deaths have now been officially confirmed, some local media outlets have suggested the final toll could rise to six.
Police, firefighters, the coastguard and regional authorities immediately launched a large search and rescue operation to locate the person still missing. Around 70 people, including volunteers from the Red Cross, were also involved in the effort. Search efforts continued again on Thursday morning.
Two helicopters — one from Maritime Rescue and another from emergency first-response services — assisted teams searching the area.
The group had reportedly been walking along a coastal path that includes several pedestrian bridges. They are believed to have set off from El Bocal and were heading towards the Spanish Institute of Oceanography.
The walkway is known to be popular with hikers and walkers exploring Spain’s northern coastline.
Emergency services were alerted by shocked witnesses about 15 minutes after the group fell into the water.
Images from the scene appeared to show that the entire base of the wooden bridge collapsed, as rescue teams rushed to the site.
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🔵Continúa la búsqueda de Elena en ‘El Bocal’
Siguen buscando a la única desaparecida tras el derrumbe de la pasarela de El Bocal
Cinco jóvenes de entre 19 y 22 años han fallecido y una se encuentra ingresada en la UCI #Mañaneros5M https://t.co/CfpoB4nErB pic.twitter.com/iQE5r4W1mk
— Mañaneros 360 (@MananerosTVE) March 5, 2026
🔴 ÚLTIMA HORA | Gema Igual, alcaldesa de Santander, confirma el fallecimiento de 4 personas al romperse una pasarela en la playa de El Bocal en Santander. Además hay dos personas en búsqueda en estos momentos.#Canal24Horas
▶️ https://t.co/wIMPtOs0Wj pic.twitter.com/LNJkiuyILY— RTVE Noticias (@rtvenoticias) March 3, 2026
En la mañana de hoy se reinician las labores de búsqueda de la persona desaparecida en la zona de #ElBocal #Santander
Anoche, agentes del #GEO junto a otras unidades de @policia y servicios de emergencia, trabajaron en el lugar mientras lo permitieron las condiciones del mar pic.twitter.com/aWFDHF1DXw
— Policía Nacional (@policia) March 5, 2026
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