The Minister of Tourism of Costa Rica, Maria Amalia Revelo, called on all tour operators to respect the recommendations of the National Emergency Commission (CNE) and take all necessary measures to ensure the security of foreign and national tourists, her statement came after the tragic rafting accident that took place on Saturday, October 20 and where five people died, four American tourists and one Costa Rican.

Today, Revelo also said in an interview : “We don’t understand why they got in that river when it was under those conditions where it could have filled up or there could have been rain in the mountains, conditions over which the National Emergency Commission (CNE) has kept us all informed. Of course we are going to take action and find out what the situation is with the company ”.

The company that offered the rafting tour service to the 14 US tourists is Quepoa Expeditions, according to the company’s website they are “a fully licensed and insured white water rafting company based out of Manuel Antonio, Quepos, Costa Rica”.

The Costa Rican guide who was among the victims, Kevin Thompson, apparently had several years of experience as a rafting guide.

The Naranjo River is a very popular destination for rafting, however, videos taken on Saturday show a turbid and grown river, even though it had not rained that day, the rainy conditions over the past few weeks increase the risks involved in practicing rafting.

Ernesto Sierra, Jorge Caso, Sergio Lorenzo and Andrés Denis are the names of the four American tourists that lost their life; they arrived to Costa Rica on October 18 to celebrate the bachelor party of one of the survivors.

The case is now under investigation by the Judiciary Investigative Police (OIJ).