Three people died and nine were injured on Tenerife after powerful waves swept bathers into the sea in separate incidents, authorities said.

Three people died Saturday in separate incidents linked to rough seas on the Spanish holiday island of Tenerife, local emergency services said.

A rescue helicopter airlifted a man who had fallen into the water at a beach in the northern municipality of La Guancha, but he was pronounced dead on arrival, emergency services said.

Earlier, a man was found floating at El Cabezo beach in southern Tenerife. Lifeguards and medical staff tried to resuscitate him but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

A wave at a pier in Puerto de la Cruz in northern Tenerife swept 10 people into the sea.

Police and bystanders rescued the group, but one woman suffered a heart attack and could not be revived. Three others from the group were seriously injure and taken to hospital for treatment.

The Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago off the northwest coast of Africa that includes Tenerife, is on alert for coastal hazards.