HOUSTON – Two people have drowned In less than 24 hours along the seawall in Galveston. With almost half a million people expected to visit this area for Labor Day, officials are urging people to be careful.
“On a busy holiday weekend, we see between 250 to 500 thousand people on the island,” Chief Peter Davis said.
While the views are beautiful, beach patrol says the water can be dangerous.
“We are flying the yellow flags today which is cautious it’s a moderate day but because of this hurricane that came through we had some really really big surf and what it does is scours out trenches and it creates a flow offshore which is a rip current,” Davis said.
A family friend said the teen had been swimming Saturday with friends near the 4400 block of Seawall Blvd. As the group made their way back to their vehicle, they could not find the 16-year-old.
“Our hearts go out to the family especially with him being underage makes it even worse,” Davis said.
Around 4 p.m. Sunday, tragedy struck again.
A 57-year-old father, identified as Jesus Sosa, who out with his teenage daughter, drowned.
Officials said the lifeguard spotted two swimmers far from shore midway between the 43 and 47 street rock groins. A local surfer approached and the swam out. The surfer rescued a Hispanic female in her early teens and passed her to the guard.
Sosa went missing for a short time before being pulled from the water and rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
On Sunday, during the search for Sosa, several agencies recovered the missing teen’s body.
“It is scary it’s definitely an eye-opener,” beachgoer Yazmin Cerna said.
Cerna visited the island with her family. She said she always watches her kids.
“We have to stay with them. We can’t just let them go out and do their own thing,” she said.
Officials said it’s important to be extra careful with the Labor Day holiday in full swing. They remind the public to swim near a lifeguard, don’t swim alone, stay away from the pier and jetties and use a life jacket, if you can’t swim.
“And then the biggest one for us is don’t leave your common sense behind,” Davis said.
Beach Patrol says four people have drowned this season.