Boozed-Up US Tourist Saved From Sea Full Of Gulfweed

Story ByAna LacasaSub EditorJoseph GolderAgencyCEN 

Video Credit: CEN

This is the moment a boozy American tourist on holiday in Mexico is pulled to shore by a hotel lifeguard after she went in the sea and became entangled in a mass of gulf weed.

The incident took place in the Caribbean resort of Playa del Carmen in the south-eastern Mexican state of Quintana Roo when 27-year-old tourist Chantal Piatza went in the sea covered with sargassum, otherwise known as gulfweed.

In the video footage, the young woman from Colorado is seen being pulled to the shore by a lifeguard.

Pictures Credit: CEN

Despite being in shallow water, the shore is covered with the brown macroalgae and the piles of gulfweed make it difficult for the lifeguard and several helpers to get the woman onto the beach.

However, by the end of the video she is seen sitting up and appears to be responsive.

Ulises Gavia of the Federal marine body Zofemat told local media: “We do not know why she went into the sea. The area is not very deep, you can be 10 metres out and still be able to stand.

The local authorities have confirmed that the young woman drank alcohol before going into the sea.

According to reports, the beach where the incident took place does not have a Civil Protection lifeguard stationed there, but the nearby hotel employs someone who was luckily at hand to help the tourist.

She was reportedly taken back to her hotel where she received treatment.

It is unclear whether the incident is being investigated by local police.