According to Rafael Gallo, honorary president of the International Rafting Federation, with 40 years of experience in the activity, said the accident that occurred in Naranjo River, in Quepos, where five tourists died and 13 managed to survive, was a catastrophe. Gallo assures that the tragedy could have been avoided and that without a doubt the river was flooded and the boats left too late.
Gallo points out that
in rafting accidents do not occur frequently and when they have occurred it is only one person. I have taken half a million people to the river and I have never had this type of accidents. In fact, in Costa Rica more than four million people have done this activity and the fatal accident rate has been very low.”
The expert indicated that the tour probably started with a high current.
Now, to analyze the incident, they’ll investigate the equipment that was used, the capacity of the people that integrated it and the human decisions that were made that I do not know because it was not there.”
From my professional experience, the video, and the information I have on the subject, I can say that the current was high, it was late and the weather conditions were not good (…) People know during this period the river floods every afternoon. In fact, other commercial companies chose not to go,”
said Gallo.
The expert believes this situation greatly affects the image of rafting.
Historically, we have had a very good reputation worldwide, and an accident like this hurts us a lot. Not only for the death of a partner, but also because it could have been avoided,”
concluded Gallo.