Two Massachusetts women were enjoying a stroll on the beach at a resort in Cancun, Mexico on Tuesday night when a rogue wave swept them off their feet and out to sea, reports Wicked Local. Friends Donna Batta, 53, and Gail Binmore, 52, were wading in shallow waters in front of the Grand Park Royal resort after dinner when the surprise wave claimed them, never to be seen again.
A third friend who decided not to go in the water watched in horror as they disappeared into the ocean. Binmore’s ex-husband Joe Doherty spoke with WCVB-TV about the tragedy.
“They had dinner the water looked good. It was warm, nice. They went down where what they thought was in comfortable waters they were waist high,” he said.
The third friend said she watched in horror as the women disappeared in an instant.
“And I asked her and she said, ‘I could see them. The lights were shining on the beach.’ And she could see them, and then they were gone in an instant,” Doherty said.
Binmore is survived by her daughter, Cassidy, and son, Brent Doherty. Batta is survived by her husband, sons Kyle and Craig and daughter Janelle.