Panic may have led to the double drowning Monday that claimed the lives of two Harrison High School students.

In the wake of the tragedy, many in the community speculated that the jeans worn by Victorino DeJesus Martinez and Juan Neri Seguro may have weighed the teens down.

While clothing, particularly cotton clothing, does create a drag on swimmers, a Denver swimming expert said Tuesday that someone with proper training could combat the pull.

“If they didn’t know what to do, either put their head down and swim toward the edge or back float, they probably panicked. Once you get into panic state, you basically start going under the water and you start drinking water,” said Ann Shidler, a registered nurse and owner of Starfish Swim School.

Children are often taught swimming skills in full clothing to prevent such accidents, Shidler said.

One of the boys may have been pulled under by the other if one was panicking, Shidler said.

“A panic state is dangerous. It is why lifeguards usually jump in with a type of buoyancy device to try and help,” she said.

Arapahoe Basin looked far from ready to start snowmaking Tuesday afternoon as this photo from the ski area’s live webcam showed. Photo by COURTESY ARAPAHOE BASIN