Five adults drown in Ohio river after chain rescue attempt: two women and three men dead, children survive
Two women and three men died Sunday evening along the Scioto River near Columbus, Ohio, after one swimmer struggled and others entered the water to help. A passing motorist alerted authorities after encountering a 6-year-old child running for help.
The gathering
On Sunday evening, July 19, a group gathered along the Scioto River near the O'Shaughnessy Reservoir, a stretch of water just northwest of Columbus, Ohio. They had come to fish and enjoy a summer evening, according to Delaware County Sheriff Jeffrey Balzer. At some point, one member of the group decided to go for a swim. That decision set off a chain of events that would leave five adults dead.
The drownings
When the swimmer began to struggle, others entered the river to help. Sheriff Balzer said at a Monday news conference that "that's when the tragedy started to occur." Each rescuer then began to struggle as well, prompting still more people to wade in, he said. Within a short time, two women and three men had drowned.
That's when the tragedy started to occur.
A child from the group managed to escape the riverbank and run onto a nearby road. A passing motorist spotted the distraught child at about 9 p.m. and called 911.
My family was in the river.
Rescue and recovery
Firefighters, police and specialised dive teams responded, using drones and a helicopter. They recovered two women from the water Sunday night; both were taken to hospitals and pronounced dead. The search continued into Monday. Tracy Whited, a spokesperson for the sheriff's department, confirmed that the bodies of three men were found at approximately 2 p.m. near the location where the women had been pulled from the river.
- Group gathers along Scioto River near O'Shaughnessy Reservoir for fishing and swimming.
- One person goes swimming, begins to struggle; subsequent rescue attempts lead to five adults drowning.
- A motorist finds a distressed child running alongside the road and calls 911.
- Rescue crews recover two women from the river; both are pronounced dead at a hospital.
- Bodies of three men are recovered near the location where the women were found.
The survivors
Two children under age 10, a 6-year-old and a 7-year-old, were with the group and survived. Sheriff Balzer said they are now in the care of Delaware County child welfare services. One of them is the child who ran for help and spoke to the motorist. It is not yet clear how the adults in the group were related, but Balzer said there may have been "two sets of parents, two children and then someone else." Ms Whited noted that the investigation has been slowed by a "slight language barrier" involving the children, although she did not specify what second language was involved. No names of the victims have been released.
Safety warning
Sheriff Balzer said there did not appear to be any strong undertow in that part of the Scioto River. He urged swimmers to assess their abilities and wear life jackets.
There's no shame in having a life jacket, or something like that, that saves people every day.
The drownings occurred two days after five members of a family were killed in a flash flood in southern Utah, a coincidence noted by national media.
