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SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — Four U.S. tourists and a Costa Rican guide were killed in a weekend rafting accident, authorities said Sunday.
Three rafts flipped on the Naranjo River at about 3 p.m. (1 p.m. ET) Saturday, and the five victims were carried away downstream, according to the Judicial Investigation Department. Other passengers managed to cling to the rafts, and some were rescued by another guide in a kayak.
The department identified the dead as Ernesto Sierra, Jorge Caso, Sergio Lorenzo and Andres Dennis, all of whom were 25 to and 35 years old. It did not list hometowns for them. The local guide was Kevin Thompson Reid.
In total, 14 tourists were aboard the rafts, along with five guides.
Authorities said the river was swollen by rain, and the National Emergency Commission maintained an alert in the area because of the possibility of flooding.
The Americans arrived in Costa Rica on Thursday and had been renting a house in Playa Hermosa de Jaco, according to the government. They were there to celebrate the bachelor party of one of the survivors, according to Argentinian news organization La Nacíon.
The Red Cross said the rafts overturned near Liverpool de Quepos.
Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado expressed his dismay about the accident on Twitter.