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The festivities of Easter weekend in Los Cabos took a sad turn when a tourist died Thursday afternoon. Officials have not named the victim, and they haven’t stated their nationality either, but they suspect the cause of death to be drowning.
Los Cabos suffered its first fatality of Holy Week. Around 1:30 Thursday afternoon, officials pulled a victim from the water. According to officials, the victim belonged to a tourist boat and was snorkeling off Chilean beach.
The tourist was found in the water and taken by a defender boat from the Mexican Navy to the coast of Cabo San Lucas. The victim was pronounced dead before being transported to the hospital.
Investigators are trying to figure out if there were professionals on the boat watching over the snorkeling tourists.
There is no more information on the incident from local officials, but this is the second death related to water activities on the Los Cabos shores in the last month. The Civil Protection stresses they will continue to deploy operations on Los Cabos beaches to keep tourists safe.
Los Cabos activities popular among tourists
With tourism, a major part of the Los Cabos economy, the area welcomes millions of visitors every year. A lot of them find themselves participating in water activities. The site is known for jet skiing, boating, and snorkeling for example. However, with so many tourists visiting, the majority of them have little experience, which can lead to dangerous situations.
Activities involving water, particularly in the ocean, are constantly stressed to have proper guidance when participating. This guidance is crucial if you have little experience operating in the ocean.
Tips on water safety
It’s essential to understand what members of your family or group have basic swimming skills. Anyone in your group involved in water activities should be competent in staying afloat, taking a breath, swimming a minimum distance, and getting out of the water safely.
If you are on a boat, have life jackets available for everyone aboard. It’s important to have enough life jackets for everyone on board at the minimum, even if some are strong swimmers.
Be knowledgeable on how to act in case of emergency. Knowing how you can help in a water emergency is critical. However, don’t attempt to push past your skill limit in the water. Saving someone drowning by going into the water to get them should only be reserved for professional lifeguards or the strongest possible swimmer. Rescuing a drowning swimmer is extremely difficult and if you aren’t an expert, you could get pulled under by the person drowning.
Know where kids are at all times. Drowning is one of the leading causes of accidental death for children. Having a set of eyes on children near the water is essential. It only takes a few seconds for children to slip into the water and start drowning.
Safety at Los Cabos
While this death will surely put a dark cloud over this holiday week, Los Cabos has had a relatively safe week. The Holy Week is always one of the busiest times of the year for Los Cabos, and city officials have taken extra precautions.
Local, state, and federal officials have partnered to make their presence felt in Los Cabos this week. Operation Easter was dubbed by law enforcement officials publicly advertising the large number of officers patrolling tourist areas to make sure visitors were safe.
With a more significant police presence in the area, it will be tested, as the day before Easter is one of the busiest days of the year for beach traffic around Los Cabos.
