Officials Now Say 8 Died in Sinking of Raft on Tijuana Lake
Mexican authorities Wednesday reduced to eight the number of children known to have drowned in the pontoon-type rubber raft that capsized Sunday in the Rodriguez Dam reservoir near here. Earlier, 11 people were thought to have drowned.
On Wednesday, authorities continued to search for the bodies of Carmelinda Zazoeda, 6; Eva Curiel Gonzalez, 12, and Edith Skinfield, 8.
A spokesman for the Baja California State Judicial Police said Wednesday that only five bodies had been recovered from the muddy waters of the reservoir east of Tijuana. They include: Berenece Aguilar, 10; Humberto Mejia Cervantes, 8; Uriel Nahun Quintero, 8 months; Israel Duarte Mora, 2 months, and Melisa Aguilar Cervantes, 9 months.
The raft was carrying as many as 40 people when it capsized about 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
The raft’s owner, Pedro Lopez Hernandez, and German Robles, 19, who was piloting the raft when it capsized, have been arrested by Tijuana police and charged with negligence.
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