Five dead after people jumped into an Ohio river trying to save someone in the water

POWELL, Ohio (AP) — Five people have died on a river in Ohio after several of them went into the water to assist another person who was struggling to swim, authorities said Monday.

A motorist called 911 after spotting a frightened child who had been with the group and was running on a nearby road, Delaware County Sheriff Jeffrey Balzer said at a news conference Monday.

The group had gathered along the Scioto River in the Columbus suburb of Powell on Sunday when one of them went into the river to go swimming. “And that’s when the tragedy started to occur,” Balzer said. The others who went into the river to help also began struggling.

Rescue crews searching the water on Sunday found two women, who were pronounced dead at a hospital, Balzer said. The bodies of three men were found in the river on Monday, said Tracy Whited, a spokesperson for the Delaware County Sheriff’s Department.