ADVERTISEMENTIt wasn’t a bird and it certainly wasn’t a plane, but Canary Islands’ emergency services caused confusion the world over when they announced an aircraft had crashed two miles off Gran Canaria on Thursday.
Control Canarias confirma caída al mar de avión a 2 millas costa #GRANCANARIA a la altura de Jinámar. Se desocnoce número de pasajeros
— 1-1-2 Canarias (@112canarias) March 27, 2014
So what was it? Upon closer inspection, authorities found the supposed aircraft was actually two boats.
“It’s not an airplane, it’s a big tugboat pulling a ship,” a spokeswoman for the Canary Island emergency services confirmed.
False alarm: no plane has disappeared off the coast of Gran Canaria. #CanaryIsland
— Aena Aeropuertos (@aenaaeropuertos) March 27, 2014
Social media was abuzz with speculation on the mystery object, with one Instagram user uploading a photo of it with the question “Is it a plane?”
He later posted a 'correction' photo on twitter, showing a larger boat tugging a smaller one.
Image credit: nosolosurf on Instagram