An article from the Tico Times describes the pain-filled grief of one mother who lost her 19-year-old son in a rip current while on a study abroad program to Costa Rica in 2012.
Ros Thackurdeen’s son, Ravi Thackurdeen, was studying abroad with the Organization for Tropical Studies/Duke University’s Global Health program when he was caught in a riptide on a beach in Playa Tortuga. There were no lifeguards, and he was dragged out to sea and killed. Read Ravi’s story here.
“Rav treaded water for more than half an hour…He was wading in hip-height water when he was pulled out by a rip current. The tourists on the beach said if they had a piece of rope, they could have saved my son. Those responsible for him on the trip watched him fight for his life and listened to his cries for help. With no safety gear or working communication devices, nobody could help,” Ros wrote in the article.
Ros explained that the family learned afterwards that drowning is the leading cause of death in Costa Rica, which is notorious for rip currents. “We learned that even an Olympic swimmer cannot resist the pull of a typical rip current,” she wrote.
To prove her point, Ros provided a horrifyingly long list of individuals who were also dragged out to sea and killed by rip currents.
| Curtis Chase | Gabriel Eric Moore |
| Dr. Brian Sumner | Marshuan Braxton |
| Brian Anthony Maltez | Garapaty Sthitha Prajna |
| Dr. Robert K. Herbert | Steve Hershberger |
| Dylan Smith | Danell Zimmerman |
| Rhiannon Joy Hull | Jermaine Zimmerman |
| Penny Obee | Michael Mckinsley |
| Alfred Kobe Storay | Serge Seguin |
| Dorothy Paradis | Scott W. Schneider |
| Richard A. and James M. Campbell | Dean Hugh Heywood |
| Marcus Maurice Mack | Matt Garber |
| Erik L. Downes | Steve Tanaka |
| Aly Zain Lakdawala | Kai Lamar |
| Jay Kennedy | City Noelle Jones |
| Matt McParland | James Erik Smith |
| John Rutledge | James Campbell |
| Jeremy Porfirio | Garcia Barboza |
| Danielle Tongier | Tony Leech |
| Andrew Harpstrite | Brett Carlson |
| Jessica Pierce | Skuglud Mauricio Alberto Acuña |
(Actor Danny DeVito nearly drowned in a rip current on a family vacation.)
“We learned recently that the U.S. Embassy in San José has strengthened a warning about rip currents on its website,” Ros wrote at the end of the article.
Read Ros’ story to see how one family’s beloved son was torn away by a strong rip current in Playa Tortuga.
Written by N. Losik.
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