Five people drowned in an Ohio river after multiple members of a group attempted to rescue a struggling swimmer, local authorities said Monday.
The incident took place Sunday along the Scioto River in Powell, a suburb of Columbus, the Associated Press reported.
According to Delaware County Sheriff Jeffrey Balzer, the emergency began when one member of the group entered the water to swim and quickly began to experience distress. Several other individuals then entered the river in an effort to assist, but they also began to struggle in the water.
The situation was brought to the attention of law enforcement after a passing motorist spotted a distressed child from the group running on a nearby road and called 911, Balzer said during a Monday news conference.
A search and rescue operation was launched Sunday, during which crews recovered two women from the water. Both were transported to a local hospital, where they were pronounced dead, Balzer said.
The search continued into the following day. Tracy Whited, a spokesperson for the Delaware County Sheriff’s Department, confirmed that the bodies of three men were recovered from the river on Monday.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
