Five Dead After Ohio River Rescue Attempts Turn Tragic

Five people are dead as the result of a drowning rescue attempt in Ohio. Here is a closer look at this tragic situation.

Ohio's Scioto River Turns Deadly

Tragedy unfolded in the Scioto River on Sunday when one person became distressed while swimming. According to Delaware County Sheriff Jeffrey Balzer, four people entered the water trying to rescue the struggling swimmer, resulting in the deaths of all five people.

The group had been fishing near Areal L along the river in Powell, located to the north of Columbus, Ohio. The Delaware Gazette is reporting that investigators believe that while two people originally entered the river to help the swimmer, two more individuals went in after the original two also began to struggle.

A motorist called 911 at about 9 pm after a child ran along the nearby road asking for help for his family. Rescue crews pulled two women out of the water on Sunday. Both of these women were pronounced dead at the hospital. The bodies of the three men were not recovered until Monday.

Two young children, ages 8 and 10, were at the scene and survived. Authorities have since identified four of the five victims: 33-year-old Jose Mario Pineda Dias, his 28-year-old wife Marina Suyapa Regalado, Miguel Angel Guerra, and Carmen Idalia Lara Ferrera. Honduran officials confirmed the four were Honduran citizens. The identity of the fifth victim has not yet been released.

Recent rainfall across the Ohio Valley has sent the Scioto River running moderately high in recent days. The river rose 188 cubic feet per second early Saturday to 400 cubic feet per second on Sunday morning. While this seems like a significant rise, the river hit a per-second maximum for the month on July 11 when it rose 1,890 cubic feet per second.

Sheriff Balzer noted, "It's not unusual for one person to be struggling in the water. Other people attempt to save them, yet they don't have the skills to do that, so we end up with multiple deaths." Balzer advised residents to be aware of their swimming ability before going into the water. This is in line with the official recommendation from the Red Cross, advising that you should "reach or throw, don't go" when a person is struggling to keep afloat. Rather than entering the water to attempt a rescue, it is safer to call for help and extend a floating object.