Four siblings swept under water in Texas. Stranger saves one but didn’t see others

Three out of four siblings swimming off a Texas beach drowned after a large wave swept them under water, officials say.

All four children might have died if not for a stranger.

The kids were swimming off Sylvan Beach in La Porte, just southeast of Houston, when a wave swept them under Thursday, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez tweeted. The tide and rip currents were strong that day, he said.

“The parents were in the area, but this happened pretty quickly,” Gonzalez told KIAH.

Veronika Alvarez, 23, says she noticed the commotion when her dog started barking, and she swam to where people were struggling, according to KTRK. In deep water, she worked to keep a boy afloat, the Houston TV station reported.

But Alvarez didn’t know that the 10-year-old boy’s three siblings also went under until she was being treated at the hospital, KTRK reported.

“I thought the other hands I was feeling were the people around me,” she told KTRK “I didn’t know there were other kids going down. I would have tried my best.”

The boy, who survived, was hospitalized in serious condition, KHOU reported.

A sheriff’s deputy patrolling the park was the first emergency responder to the beach, and he pulled a child’s body from the water, the Houston Chronicle reported. Harris County Deputy Fabian Viruette described a scene of chaos.

“Everybody was screaming and yelling,” Viruette told the newspaper.

The siblings who drowned were 7, 11, and 13 years old, Gonzalez said on Twitter. All three of their bodies were found Thursday night, according to Gonzalez.

“No words,” Gonzalez tweeted. “Please keep the children and their family in your prayers.”

This story was originally published August 9, 2019 at 6:09 PM with the headline "Four siblings swept under water in Texas. Stranger saves one but didn’t see others."