A New Mexico man is recovering from a horrifying vacation experience where he watched a woman die.
Jimmy Murray is a gallery director in Taos, New Mexico. He was in Costa Rica with a friend when they caught a catamaran to do some snorkeling. Click here for the KOAT video
“After we left the marina, it was heavy seas the whole way, the starboard side kept getting slammed with waves,” Murray said.
As life jackets were being handed out, people started screaming as the catamaran tipped on its side and sunk.
Murray said he was in the water for nearly two hours before he was rescued by a cargo ship. At first, he was separated from his friend, but the two eventually reconnected.
Some were not as fortunate, and three people were killed.
“What will always stick in my mind is seeing this woman. I found out her name was ‘Sharon’ later, being resuscitated, and for minutes and minutes, and her friends in the water calling out, ‘Come on Sharon, you can make it. You can make it,’” Murray said.
Murray said it will be some time before he has the courage to get on a boat again.