US warns about swimming at beaches in El Salvador

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — The U.S. Embassy in El Salvador issued a warning Monday against swimming off the country’s Pacific coast beaches, citing a high number of deaths.

The embassy wrote that “in 2021, an elevated number of U.S. citizens (and persons of other nationalities) have lost their lives due to rip currents and other dangerous conditions” at El Salvador’s beaches.

The warning says “strong undertows and currents make swimming at El Salvador’s Pacific Coast beaches extremely dangerous even for experienced swimmers.”

It says lifeguards are not always present at beaches in El Salvador and notes that the country’s search and rescue capabilities “are limited” while access to medical resources is often “inadequate.”