Teen dead, uncle on life support after Encinitas swimming accident

One of two persons pulled unconscious from the water off Moonlight Beach in Encinitas last week has died and the other remains on life support in a hospital.

A 17-year-old boy from Guatemala died Monday, four days after the rescue, according to the San Diego County medical examiner.

The boy’s uncle remains in the hospital, according to students from Santa Fe Christian School in nearby Solana Beach who assisted in the rescue during a beach outing.

The two were apparently caught in a strong riptide.

The students have established a website to solicit donations to send to the family in Guatemala.

“We’re not sure why God had us there at that moment. Maybe it was to find the two of them, because otherwise their families would never have known what happened to them. They would have just been missing,” the website states. “Maybe another reason we were there was because now that we know their story, we can help them.”

The uncle was a migrant working in the U.S. to send money to his wife and children in Guatemala, according to the students. The teenager had recently moved here to attend high school.