Five people died in an Ohio river after several members of a group entered the water in an effort to rescue someone who was having trouble swimming, officials said Monday.
Delaware County Sheriff Jeffrey Balzer said during a Monday news conference that a driver called 911 after seeing a scared child, who had been with the group, running along a nearby road.
Two children younger than 10, including the child who went for help, have since been placed in the care of family services, Balzer said.
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The group had been together Sunday near the Scioto River in Powell, a suburb of Columbus, when one person entered the river to swim. “And that’s when the tragedy started to occur,” Balzer said, explaining that others who jumped in to help also began to struggle in the water.
Search and rescue teams recovered two women from the river Sunday, and both were later pronounced dead at a hospital, Balzer said. On Monday, crews found the bodies of three men in the water, according to Tracy Whited, a spokesperson for the Delaware County Sheriff’s Department.
The deaths came just two days after another outdoor tragedy in southern Utah, where five family members were killed when a flash flood swept through canyons during a hiking trip.
