A search for a soldier swept away by the current in Luquillo would be fruitless

An active search for a tourist who went missing during the afternoon of March 28 after being swept away by the ocean currents at La Parede beach in Luquillo will be suspended from Monday, reports said. Bureau for Emergency Management and Disaster Administration (NMEAD) through written statements.

Commissioner of NMEAD, Nino Correaindicating that, starting Monday, coastal municipalities near Luquillo will monitor their beaches as part of a passive search for their whereabouts. Samuel Maturi Wanjiru, 26 years old.

“In this search, all resources were used in water, air and on the coast with the personnel of the Municipal Emergency Management Office of Luquillo, Ceiba, Juncos, Canovanas, Las Piedras, NMEAD and the Ceiba area of ​​NMEAD. , Arecibo and Vega Baja, FURA del Police BureauBureau of Emergency Medical Corps, US Coast Guard, Department of Natural and Environmental Resources

(DRNA) and Luquillo Surf Rescue volunteers as well as chaplains supporting the family. Correa Filomeno added that thanks to all the staff who worked so hard to find this young man.

Maturi Wanjiru, resident of Boston, Massachusetts and active duty military, He disappeared during the afternoon of March 28 after being swept away by the current at La Parede Beach. From that moment, NMEAD and the police and other agencies began a rescue operation to try to locate her.

As part of the search efforts that day, patrols were conducted along the coast, while coast guard Offers air support with helicopters. Likewise, the FURA vessel probed the waters.

In the days that followed, jet skis, divers, drones and small boats were mobilized to search for Maturi Wanjiru.

“At the beginning of Holy Week, we warned that the beaches will not be suitable for bathing, because the National Weather Service predicted that the north swell will affect our beaches, especially the west, north and east coasts of the island, including Culebra. and Weeks. Today, we regret to return to the subject of drowning due to some cases that have occurred in recent days.

” added the commissioner in a press release.

On the same day the soldier disappeared, a 40-year-old man died on Montons de Beach. IsabellaAfter jumping into the water to save his daughters. As of Friday alone, NMEAD announced that it had attended to five cases of people swept away by ocean currents on various beaches north of Puerto Rico.

Earlier and in an interview with new dayPresident of Puerto Rico Lifeguard AssociationJuan Francisco Cana Gonzalez, Appealed to the public not to enter the sea When the weather conditions in the area are not favorable to avoid drowning.

If someone is drowning, the key advice is to call immediately 9-1-1 emergency systemBut not jumping into the sea in a rescue attempt could result in a worse disaster. “My recommendation is, if someone is drowning, activate 9-1-1, try to throw them something or stretch them, but never try to save them”, The lifeguard noted in an earlier interview. “If you don’t know how to swim and you’re an adult, you know you can’t go beyond your waist (water level),” he stressed.

Regarding the use of swimming pools and the presence of children, NMEAD recommends that minors are never left alone or provided with water facilities without the presence of an adult supervising them at both beaches and swimming pools.