A 30-year-old Belgian tourist died on the spot after jumping into a lake near San Carlos de Bariloche (commonly called Bariloche) in Argentina’s Patagonia region.
On Friday afternoon (local time) the woman jumped into Lake Nahuel Huapi in Bariloche. While it is currently summer in the country, the lake itself is still quite cold, with the average temperature of the water fluctuating between 6 and 12°C at this time of year.
The Belgian woman was on the lake shore playing with a dog when she threw a ball into the water so the animal would go looking for it. the ball drifted too far away, so she went into the cold water to retrieve a ball, according to a report from local media.
However, she was unable to swim back to the shore and began calling for help, after which her partner and several other tourists tried to rescue her.
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Several minutes later, she was pulled out of the water. Resuscitation attempts were made on the beach but they were in vain as the victim had died on the spot. Afterwards, her partner was also taken to the hospital with symptoms of hypothermia. The body was removed by local police.
A forensic examination will be carried out to reveal whether the woman died by drowning or hypothermia.
