The parents of two of the young people who died while rafting in Quepos raised their voices to denounce Costa Rica’s authorities neglect to control tourism.
Ernesto Sierra and his wife Margarita Estrada (parents of Ernesto Sierra) and Javier Caso (father of Jorge Caso) came to Costa Rica for the third time in less than a month in order to find answers. They say the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) and the minister, María Amalia Revelo, have been unable to explain the absence of the regulations and controls for adventure tourism.
The foreigners visited the country to celebrate the bachelor party of one of their friends – Luis Beltrán – who survived.
Sierra reiterated that they are respectful of the criminal investigations that are under way to clarify the facts and trusts that justice will come at some point.
Something is happening. The government has measures to attract young people from all over the world to Costa Rica, but they really have a security crisis in these activities. We must work to solve this crisis and then continue promoting tourism,”
said the father of the victim.
Relatives of the deceased believe that the country has had to solve security problems in tourist activities for a long time.
We ask that they regulate, control and prosecute an activity that puts people’s lives at risk,”
added Sierra.
The survivors were interviewed days after the tragedy that took five lives by the Prosecutor’s Office of Quepos and Parrita as part of a jurisdictional trial process. Likewise, the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) and the Quepos Prosecutor’s Office searched the offices of the company that carried out the tour -Quepoa Expeditions- and the house of the company’s administrator.
According to the story of lifeguards and residents of the area, the flow of the river was increased despite the fact that when they started the adventure it was not raining. Apparently, the rainy conditions uphill caused the river to rise.