COSTA RICA STAR NEWS BRIEF

A tourist from the United States drowned Monday afternoon in Playa Villa Leonor, in Osa, Puntarenas on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast, the Costa Rican Red Cross confirmed.

Authorities identified the victim as 67-year-old Daniel Joseph Miller.

According to witnesses, Miller struck his head on a rock after being hit by a powerful wave.

Family members and fellow tourists were able to quickly pull Miller from the water, but the man had no vital signs.

Paramedics later declared the man dead at the scene.

In a separate incident on Sunday, another tourist from the United States had to be rescued by the Costa Rican Coast Guard after suffering an unknown accident while diving near the Catalinas Islands off the coast of Playa Flamingo in Guanacaste.

There were some 100 fatal drownings in Costa Rica in 2015, most involving strong under currents known as rip tides.