In a span of less than 48 hours, two female tourists from the United States lost their lives in separate drowning incidents at popular Costa Rican beaches on the Pacific Coast.
The first event occurred Tuesday morning at Dominical Beach in the district of Bahia Ballena, located in the canton of Osa, Puntarenas. According to the report from
Costa Rica’s Red Cross, a 62-year-old woman drowned while swimming at the popular beach around 9:00 a.m. Despite rescue attempts to revive her, she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Another fatal drowning occurred on Wednesday when a 53-year-old U.S. visitor drowned at Bejuco Beach in the canton of Parrita, Puntarenas. Red Cross officials received an emergency call at about 9:00 a.m.The woman had been swept away by a strong rip current. First responders found her lifeless upon arriving, declaring her dead at the scene.
Authorities have not yet released the identities of either victim pending family notification. Both women were said to have been vacationing in Costa Rica prior to the unfortunate accidents.
It is not uncommon for swimmers to underestimate the power of the deceptively strong rip currents that are common along Costa Rica’s Pacific beaches. Lifeguards constantly warn visitors to stay close to shore and swim near patrol towers.
These two tragedies serve as a reminder of the importance of beach safety. Costa Rican officials urge tourists to only swim at beaches with lifeguard supervision and clearly marked swimming areas. They also stress that if caught in a rip current, swimmers should not fight it but rather try to float before swimming parallel to shore until free of the current’s pull.
The deaths are tragic reminder to always put safety first when venturing out into the ocean.
Costa Rica has seen over dozen drowning deaths so far this year. The vast majority of these events during the times when Costa Rica is experiencing large swells causing the shoreline to develop many more and stronger rip currents.
