A giant wave killed a tourist as she was strolling on a beach in the Pacific resort of Cabo San Lucas, sweeping her and her male companion out to sea.
The 65-year-old woman killed by the wave was walking with a 70-year-old man on a beach to return to their hotel when the giant wave overtook them. The pair was swept out to sea and later rescued by Navy personnel, but the woman was declared brain dead.
Her companion was listed in serious condition on Wednesday, The Associated Press reported.
Authorities did not name the tourist killed by the giant wave, but said that she had a driver’s license from Wisconsin. The man who was with her had a license from Nebraska. It is not clear whether next of kin had been notified.
Though it wasn’t clear exactly where the giant wave killed the tourist, several beaches on Cabo San Lucas are known for abnormally large waves. The book 100 Best Surf Spots in the World notes that Cabo is known for beaches that have some gentle, easy to ride waves and other locations where the waves are giant and dangerous.
The book notes:
“At the other end of the scale is the big surf of Cabo San Lucas at Todos Santos, where the wave can turn into huge gun barrels, glistening steel in the noonday sun and striking awe into the township that overlooks the bay. When a mighty swell hits, the big-wave riders get out their guns and face the pounding shorebreak eye to eye. It’s a shoot-out with some of the most powerful waves in the world.”
The giant wave the killed the tourist in Mexico is not the only case recently of a person being killed by powerful surf. Back in December, a pair of fishermen were pulled into San Francisco Bay by a powerful wave, and later found dead.
