Powell, Ohio – In a tragic accident, several people lost their lives while trying to rescue a distressed swimmer from the Scioto River in Ohio.

According to the New York Post, the incident occurred on Sunday near Powell, a suburb of Columbus. A group of five adults and two children had been at the river to fish and enjoy the summer evening.

When one member of the group entered the water and apparently got into trouble, the others followed – and were themselves swept away by the current.

A boy from the group – around the age of six or seven – eventually made it to nearby State Route 257 and alerted a passing driver to the emergency. The man promptly called authorities, triggering a large‑scale search effort.

Donald Trump Trump gears up for White House Correspondents' Dinner after shooting chaos: "It will be a 'HOT' ticket!"

Later that evening, rescuers were able to pull two women from the river, but they were pronounced dead at the hospital. The following Monday, search teams also recovered the bodies of the three missing men.

Four of the victims have now been identified: Jose Mario Pineda Dias and his wife, Marina Suyapa Regalado, as well as the couple Miguel Ángel Guerra and Carmen Idalia Lara Ferrera. According to officials, all four were Honduran citizens.

The two children of the first couple, aged six and seven, survived the tragedy and are currently in the care of child services. Authorities have enlisted specially trained therapy dogs while staff search for relatives or other trusted contacts.

The investigation into the circumstances of the accident is still ongoing. According to authorities, language barriers were among the factors that hampered the initial interviews.

The case again highlights how dangerous rivers can be even for experienced swimmers – especially when multiple people try to conduct a rescue at the same time.