Marcela Vargas was enjoying Manuel Antonio beach with her family when the current dragged her nine-year-old daughter Mariana Barrantes. Fortunately, Coast Guard officers managed to save her on Sunday.
Visibly shaken, Vargas said that she and her husband are swimmers in open waters, but that they could not do anything for their child.
They are not the only ones who have been scared on the beaches of the country. Since the beginning of Operation Safe Summer until December 30th, the National Coastguard Service had rescued 22 tourists on different beaches.
Almost half of the rescue actions took place at Manuel Antonio’s main beach. On Sunday alone, nine people had to be helped by lifeguards from the Coast Guard Station in Quepos.
In addition to Mariana, the tourists assisted in Manuel Antonio are five Costa Ricans, one Italian, one Englishman and one American citizen.