Five people, including two sets of parents, horribly died trying to rescue a struggling swimmer in an Ohio river on Sunday night — leaving multiple young children orphans.
A group of five adults, two children, and another individual was out on the Scioto River to “enjoy themselves a summer night” of fishing when the tragedy unfolded, Delaware County Sheriff Jeffrey Balzer said at a news conference on Monday.
At some point, one adult went into the water to swim and began struggling, prompting two other adults to dive in to try to save them. After the pair also began to struggle, another two adults went in to help, Balzer described.
None of them made it out of the river alive.
Authorities rushed to the scene after a motorist noticed a “clearly distraught” young child running along a nearby road around 9 p.m. and called 911.
The terrified child said that his “family was in the river,” cops said.
Two women were then pulled from the river and taken to nearby hospitals, where they were pronounced dead.
The bodies of three men were recovered later on Monday from the river in Powell, north of Columbus, according to Tracy Whited, a spokesperson for the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office. It’s unclear where the trio were located.
Two sets of parents were among the five killed in the chaos, the sheriff added.
Two young children under the age of 10 who were with the group have since been placed in family services, Balzer said.
Authorities have not yet publicly identified the five people who drowned. The exact circumstances around their deaths remain unclear.
The river was running high and fast, flowing at a rate of 350 cubic feet per second on Sunday, according to data from a US Geological Survey water gauge at the nearby dam. The number is more than double the average rate.
Balzer urged people to ensure they have the proper safety devices and are confident in their swimming abilities before going into the water.
“Know your skill level before you get in the water. Are you a confident swimmer?” Balzer said. “Make sure you have other people around in case something goes wrong to notify someone.”
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