An unexpected tragedy was in store last weekend for Canada’s Manitoba Rugby team who was in Costa Rica competing in the Rainforest 7s competition.

On a trip to Costa Rica’s Pacific coast, player Peter Scouras, 33, drowned Monday around noon in the rough surf at Playa Hermosa beach, and Red Cross officials who responded to the accident were unable to resuscitate him, according to local Red Cross officials.

On the Manitoba Rugby website, Sandy Donald, the union’s president, issued a statement saying, “I’ve known Peter for over 10 years, both as a player and administrator, and he embodied all the positive characteristics of Canadian and Manitoban Rugby.

On behalf of the Manitoba Rugby Union, I’d like to share my sincere condolences to Peter’s family and the University of Manitoba Wombats Rugby Club.”

The competition was held February 17-18 at the Liceo Franco Costarricense in Concepción de Tres Rios, a southern San José district, said the Rugby Club.

Scouras, an active community member and good samaritan, ran a family restaurant in Winnipeg, donated to local causes, and has been remembered in local news reports, in dozens of social media posts and also on the floor of the Winnipeg City Council.

He leaves behind his mother, Vickie, a sister, Helena, and a brother, Demitri, according to local Winnipeg news.

Playa Hermosa, which is next to the tourist town of Jacó, is a world-renowned surf spot, and consequently has very strong currents. There are other beaches called Playa Hermosa in Costa Rica as well.

No national lifeguard program exists in Costa Rica, and signs warning of riptides are often not posted. Efforts are being made to establish a public lifeguard service, notably by the Tamarindo Chamber of Commerce, and some beaches have volunteer lifeguard services.