Key takeaways:
- Five people died after a swimming emergency Sunday in the Scioto River in Powell, Ohio, authorities said.
- A motorist called 911 after spotting a frightened child from the group running on a nearby road, Sheriff Jeffrey Balzer said.
- Rescuers found two women Sunday who were pronounced dead at a hospital, and three men’s bodies were recovered from the river Monday.
Five people died in Ohio’s Scioto River after several members of a group entered the water to help someone who was struggling to swim, authorities said Monday.
The group had gathered Sunday along the river in Powell, a Columbus suburb, when one person went into the water to swim, Delaware County Sheriff Jeffrey Balzer said at a news conference. Others then jumped in to help as the swimmer struggled.
“And that’s when the tragedy started to occur,” Balzer said.
A motorist called 911 after seeing a frightened child who had been with the group running along a nearby road, Balzer said. Two children under age 10, including the child who ran for help, were placed in the care of family services, the sheriff said.
Rescue crews searched the river Sunday and found two women, Balzer said. They were taken to a hospital, where they were pronounced dead. Searchers later found the bodies of three men in the river Monday, said Tracy Whited, a spokesperson for the Delaware County Sheriff’s Department.
Authorities did not release the names or ages of the five people who died in the accounts provided.
The deaths came two days after five members of a family were killed in southern Utah when a flash flood swept through canyons during a hiking trip.
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