David Soto Rosas (28)
left Córdoba for Chile for a better future.
After extensive procedures, he had recently obtained citizenship of the country in which his parents were born and in which his sister lives.
Last Sunday, together with his two nephews, they arrived at a rocky area of Marbella beach, in Santo Domingo.
And they chose to take a selfie to record that family moment, which turned out to be tragic.
One of the boys slipped and fell into the sea.
His uncle jumped in to save him and he never appeared again.
"We know that his soul has already departed
," says Paola, his sister, who, almost a week after the incident, continues to accompany the troops in the search by sea, sky and land.
The use of a helicopter and a boat are for now in vain.
It all happened on Sunday afternoon when David was with his nephews Enzo and Iván, both 18 years old, and
they climbed some rocks to take photos
.
"Enzo slipped and fell into the water. My brother asked Iván to go get help and while he jumped in. When Iván returned with a lifeguard, Enzo could be seen but David could not be seen," explained Karen, another of his sisters, in dialogue with
El Doce
.
In that moment of desperation, Ivan was able to be rescued.
But the lifeguard - he explained - did not continue looking for the young man from Córdoba because
the area was very dangerous, with a large number of waves
.
From there, the Navy activated an emergency protocol with helicopters, patrol boats and personnel on foot that toured the entire sector of interest for the search, which has not yet obtained positive results.
His family is already resigned, the only thing they want is to find the body.
"
He saved his nephew and paid for it with his life.
God willing that his body appears to say goodbye to him as he deserves. They have already warned all the fishermen to let them know if they see any body," added Karen, broken in crying.
The rocky area where David fell, on Marbella beach, Santo Domingo.
Photo: Civil Protection.
David was a graphic designer and had arrived in the neighboring country seven months ago.
Since he could not resolve the citizenship procedures quickly, he returned to Córdoba with the aim of returning to Chile because his cousin was going to make him start working in Santiago.
"Just now that he had filed, this misfortune happened. He came for a better future and this happened to him," says his sister.
His family from Argentina was also in Chile on vacation.
"Our parents are Chilean, but about 35 years ago they went to live in Argentina. My brother became a citizen and was not able to enjoy it. This tragedy happened and he was not able to realize his dreams here," lamented Paola, in dialogue with the local portal
El Líder de San Antonio.
Enzo, David's nephew who fell into the water,
was able to be rescued because he was left between the stones.
Although he was conscious, he was taken to an area hospital for a check-up.
A beach not suitable for bathing
The area where the tragedy occurred is not suitable for bathing due to the rocky structure of the surface, in addition to the aggressiveness of the tides.
This is what Miguel Ángel Bravo, port captain of San Antonio, explained.
"On Sunday around 6:00 p.m. we received a call from a person who reported that two others had fallen into the sea from the rocks on Marbella beach, which is
a beach not suitable for bathing
," he explained.
A helicopter searches for David in the area where he fell.
Photo: Civil Protection.
"A search and rescue operation was immediately arranged, which included the deployment of a naval helicopter, in addition to the departure of maritime units and the deployment of land patrols. In addition, extra-institutional means such as Carabineros de Chile, the Municipality of Santo Domingo and civil organizations such as the Amphibious Rescue Group of the Commune of Cartagena," the officer said about the search operation.
In addition, he asked
not to go to rocky areas
, to obtain information during periods of storm surge and to check the signage of the beaches located on the central coast of Chile.