5 dead after attempt to help struggling swimmer turns into 'tragedy': Sheriff

The victims included two women and three men, authorities said.

Five people are dead after several adults entered a river in Ohio to help a struggling swimmer, authorities said.

A search and rescue effort unfolded Sunday night, when a motorist noticed a "clearly distraught" child running along a state highway near the Scioto River, according to Delaware County Sheriff Jeffrey Balzer.

"The child said that his family was in the river," Balzer said during a press briefing on Monday.

The driver called 911, and first responders pulled two women from the river, Balzer said. They were transported to area hospitals, where they were pronounced dead, he said.

Authorities continued searching for three men believed to have also been in the water, recovering their bodies on Monday, according to Delaware County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Tracy Whited.

The group is believed to have been fishing Sunday evening at the Scioto River in Powell, north of Columbus, when at some point one of the adults went in to go swimming, according to Balzer.

"That's when the tragedy started to occur," he said.

When the person started to struggle in the water, two others went in to try to save them, but then they also started to struggle, Balzer said. Two others then went into the water to help, he said.

Two sets of parents are believed to be among the group of five, Balzer said. One of the deceased is believed to be the person who was initially struggling in the river, according to Whited, who noted the incident remains under investigation.

Additional information on the five victims, including their names, is not being released at this time pending next-of-kin notifications, the sheriff's office said.

Two children under the age of 10 who were with the group have been placed in the care of family services, according to Balzer.

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