Tourist drowns after saving his daughter in the Encantado cenote in Tulum

A 38-year-old visitor from the state of Tabasco died in Tulum's "Encantado" cenote after saving his daughter from drowning when she slipped from a kayak.

Tourist drowns after saving his daughter in the Encantado cenote in Tulum
After saving his daughter from the Encantado cenote in Tulum, a tourist drowns. Credit: Karla

A 38-year-old tourist from the state of Tabasco died drowned in the "Encantado" cenote in Tulum's hotel zone after he managed to save his daughter when she fell from a kayak.

The tragic event occurred shortly after 4:00 p.m. on Sunday at the cenote located at kilometer 9.5 of the Tulum-Boca Paila highway, in the coastal zone of the municipal capital. According to the official report, the man had requested a kayak to navigate with his daughter in the cenote, but in the middle of the trip, the young girl lost her balance and fell into the water.

The man immediately jumped into the waters of the natural sinkhole to try to save his daughter, which he barely managed to do before sinking and drowning. Bathers who were in the cenote, upon noticing that the man was not afloat, dived in to pull him out, and although he was attended to by civil protection rescuers, nothing could be done because he had already lost his life.

Later, the spa was shut down because it didn't have the right safety measures, like lifeguards and safety vests, to stop something like this from happening.

The Federal Commission for the Protection Against Sanitary Risks (Cofepris) of Tulum informed that derived from the results of the water quality analysis carried out in June, three cenotes in this municipality show high levels of contamination.