A BRITISH pensioner has tragically drowned in Costa Rica.
Witnesses said that the woman, 76, had been swimming at Montezuma beach, Puntarenas, when she was dragged out to sea by a powerful wave.
GettyAn elderly British woman has died whilst swimming in Costa Rica[/caption]
Emergency services were alerted and a search and rescue mission was carried out immediately.
The authorities thoroughly searched both the shore and sea but after half an hour they still could not find the British woman.
Fishermen who had responded to the emergency alert eventually discovered her body and transported her back to shore.
Paramedics could not revive her and she was pronounced dead shortly after.
Julio Benavides, a responding paramedic, told local media: “We received a report of a water accident, specifically in Montezuma.
“Upon arrival, we attended to a woman around 75 years old lying on the beach.
“Upon assessment, she exhibited no vital signs, and, unfortunately, we had to declare her deceased due to submersion.”
According to recent studies, drowning is the primary cause of death among visitors to Costa Rica.
It is estimated that during the holiday periods, between 50 and 60 people lose their lives in rivers and beaches.
Already this year, there have been four deaths attributed to aquatic accidents in Costa Rica.
In 2022, 875 emergency responses had to be carried out due to aquatic accidents, while there were 118 deaths because of it.
Although the statistics have not yet been updated for 2023, it has been claimed that these incidences have increased.
The news comes just two years after Bitcoin billionaire Mircea Popescu drowned in Costa Rica.
According to site Teletica, Romanian Popescu, 41, drowned after taking an 8.30am morning swim in the resort of Playa Hermosa, a popular surfing destination because of its massive waves.
A man identified as Popescu was “swept away by the current” and drowned.
Not long after, surfing champion Kalani David tragically died on the same beach while practicing for a competition.
The Hawaiian surfer died in Playa Hermosa after suffering a seizure while in the water, local officials reported at the time.
“He was surfing when he apparently suffered some kind of epileptic seizure and drowned,” the country’s Judicial Investigation Department told the Associated Press.
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