Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico - On Sunday, civil authorities located and recovered the bodies of a young man and two women who were swept away by a flood current while trying to cross the Palmillas de Cacao arroyo on two Polaris Reizer ATVs last Saturday.

The drowning victims were part of a caravan of riders that were making their way to Puerto Vallarta for this year's "Vallartazo," an annual motorsport event in which people from all over Mexico rev up their motorcycles, ATVs, jeeps and 4x4 vehicles for a cross-country road trip that ends in our city.

The members of this caravan came from Magdalena, and had already traveled through Ixtlan, San Sebastian del Oeste, La Estancia, and Santa Cruz de Quelitán before the incident occurred close to the place known as "El Veladero" - just 30 kilometers from their hotel.

According to the Deputy Director of Puerto Vallarta's Civil Protection and Fire Department, Sergio Ramírez López, city authorities became aware of the accident after interviewing a group of young people who had gathered at the gas station located at Las Juntas and Highway 200 and were preparing to start their own search for their missing comrades.

Police confirmed the information and the Civil Protection group moved to the place where several residents of nearby ranches indicated that indeed there were two quad bikes in the arroyo. Later, after combing a good stretch of the riverbed, the bodies were located downstream, where their recovery was complicated by the rugged terrain.

The bodies of the young man, who appears to be between 21 and 24 years of age, and the two women between 20 and 30 years of age, were taken to the Puerto Vallarta Medical Examiner (Semefo) for official identification.

Ramírez López said that if these unfortunate young people had crossed the ford with the other Vallartazo group members five minutes earlier, they would have avoided the flood current that swept them downstream and deprived them of life.

The municipal official used this unfortunate incident to make a strong recommendation for those who practice this kind of cross country activity, warning that it is necessary to take extra precautions during the rainy season, especially when crossing rivers. He said when encountering flood currents it is preferable to wait a few minutes to avoid such regrettable consequences.