The cold front that has been affecting Costa Rica since Wednesday and that has caused winds of up to 90 km/ph in some areas, caused the death of two homeless men in San Jose.

The two men, of ages 46 and 50, were taken to the San Juan de Dios Hospital with hypothermia, one on Wednesday morning and the other one on Thursday morning, but they both passed away shortly after.

Both men were laying in the street, one in Escazu and the other one in San Jose, and were taken in by Red Cross personnel.

Mario Sibaja, director of the San Juan de Dios Hospital, explained that the men presented very low body temperature. Hypothermia can be mild, moderate or severe, in both cases it was severe and it is unknown for how long they were affected by the cold, which eventually causes vital organs to fail.

“These are patients that sleep on the street, they have no blankets. Sometimes they have ingested alcohol and they fall asleep exposed to the extreme weather conditions”, explained Sibaja.

The lowest temperature registered in San Jose was of 15⁰C (59⁰F) and in some areas like the Turrialba Volcano the thermometer marked 2.6⁰C (36.7⁰F). Although this is nothing in comparison to the temperatures registered right now in some areas of North America, the low temperatures and strong winds can pose different health risks especially affecting newborn children, elderly people and those with particular health conditions.

The identities of the men are unknown.

The strong winds have also caused damages in houses, fallen trees, and a huge billboard fell over several pedestrians in downtown San Jose, luckily causing only minor injuries. In total the National Emergency Commission has reports of 16 incidents.

The cold front will continue to affect the country until this Friday and could extend through the weekend.