A traveler who was at the resort in the Dominican Republic on the same day University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki vanished is claiming there was “no communication” from the hotel regarding beach safety, leaving it “kind of just left up to your own discretion.”
D’Lani Sweeney spoke to NewsNation as the search remains ongoing for the missing 20-year-old, who was last seen entering the beach early Thursday morning at the Riu Republica Resort in Punta Cana, according to La Policia Nacional, the country’s national police force. On Monday, ABC News reported that Konanki may have drowned, citing law enforcement sources.
“I remember the waves being a lot bigger than they normally were. Me and my friends were on the beach and I remember telling them that I was not going to go into the ocean because I know I can swim, but not that well enough to feel safe in the ocean,” Sweeney said. “I know a couple friends that did go in, but they weren’t in for a while and there weren’t as many people in the ocean as we normally would see.”
“There was no communication from the resort at all of, you know, this is our beach safety, to be safe. It was kind of just left up to your own discretion,” she added. “One night there was like a security guard whistling at people to come in from the beach that were going in, but that was the only night that I had seen it and we went practically almost every day down to the beach to take pictures.”
Sudiksha Konanki in a Facebook selfie photo. The 20-year-old University of Pittsburgh junior has been missing since March 6, when she vanished during a spring break trip to a five-star resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. (Sudiksha Konanki/Facebook)
A video captured by Sweeney showed a red flag posted at the beach, warning swimmers of rough conditions in the water.
Sweeney also told NewsNation that the resort was suffering from multiple issues during her recent stay, including prolonged power outages, and that she believes “100 percent” that the conditions might have prompted others such as Konanki to spend more time at the beach than normal.
“I know people that got locked out of their rooms and because of the power being for hours, days on end, the customer service was not able to help them or regenerate their cards to work on their room, so people were sleeping in other people’s rooms, they were sleeping on the pool chairs, they were sleeping by the beach, they were staying out as long as they could because there was no AC in the rooms and the rooms would get 80 degrees plus.”
Civil defense boats search for Sudiksha Konanki on Monday, March. 10. One report suggested Konanki drowned in the ocean in Punta Cana after getting swept up by a big wave. (AP/Francesco Spotorno)
When asked about the claims Tuesday, RIU Hotels did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
“At RIU Hotels, we are deeply concerned about the disappearance of one of our guests,” the resort operator told Fox News Digital in a statement yesterday.
“We would like to express our deepest sympathy to the family and friends during this incredibly difficult time. The safety and well-being of our guests are our highest priority, and we are fully committed to doing everything in our power to assist in this situation,” it continued.
POLICE REVEAL MALE FRIEND IS UNDER INVESTIGATION FOLLOWING KONANKI’S DISAPPEARANCE
Sudiksha Konanki appears in an undated photo on her TikTok profile. She was last seen on March 6 at a resort beach in Punta Cana. (@sudikshakonanki/TikTok)
“Our team is providing full support to the authorities in the search, and an emergency protocol has been activated to ensure that all necessary measures are taken. Additionally, we have established an internal communication channel so that any of our employees, across our five hotels in Punta Cana, who may have relevant information can share it with us or the authorities,” RIU Hotels also said.
Konanki is originally from India but is a legal permanent U.S. resident from Loudoun County, near Washington, D.C., according to authorities. She is 5 feet, 3 inches tall, with black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a brown bikini, hoop earrings, bracelets and an anklet.
Dominican police have said they are investigating one of Konanki’s friends and are looking to corroborate claims from a “young man” who was also in the water on the day of her disappearance.
A member of the civil defense canine unit searches on Monday for Sudiksha Konanki, a university student from the U.S. who disappeared on a beach in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, last week. (AP/Francesco Spotorno)
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When asked if there is any reason to suspect foul play, a spokesperson for the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia told Fox News Digital, “We have to consider all possibilities and U.S. law enforcement is looking at everything.”
Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz and Ashley Papa contributed to this report.
