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2 teens drown after group chat dare to jump off S.C bridge goes wrong

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Rayan Alnasser and Zakaria Chaar drown after group chat dare to jump off South Carolina bridge goes wrong.
Rayan Alnasser and Zakaria Chaar drown after group chat dare to jump off South Carolina bridge goes wrong. Teens had jumped off Twelve Mile River Bridge into Lake Hartwell.
Rayan Alnasser and Zakaria Chaar drown after group chat dare to jump off South Carolina bridge goes wrong
Rayan Alnasser (left) and Zakaria Chaar drown after group chat dare to jump off South Carolina bridge goes wrong.

Rayan Alnasser and Zakaria Chaar drown after group chat dare to jump off South Carolina bridge goes wrong. Teens had jumped off Twelve Mile River Bridge into Lake Hartwell when tragedy struck. 

Two teenage boys drowned after jumping from a South Carolina bridge on a dare by friends in a group chat — with one of the victims dying after leaping in to try to save his friend, according to officials.

The bodies of Rayan Alnasser, 16, and Zakaria Chaar, 15, were recovered from Lake Hartwell on Monday following the ‘dare gone wrong’ late Saturday.

Egged on by friends who met them there, one of the boys jumped from Twelve Mile River Bridge — and ‘immediately went into distress,’ deputies from the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office told Fox Carolina.

Another teen tried to save him, but they didn’t come back out of the water. Police were called to the scene, and the search began.

According to Pickens County Sheriff’s Capt. Brett Barwick, a caller reported Saturday at 10:28 p.m. that three teens jumped into Lake Hartwell, and two could not be located.

When deputies arrived, a boater had already pulled one of the teens from the lake. Emergency teams searched the area on Sunday and Monday. 

Around 11 a.m. Monday, the bodies of both boys were located on sonar, roughly 8 feet apart, in an area of the lake that was 15 to 16 feet deep, WRDW reported.

Barwick said the teens likely jumped into the lake as a challenge and that they were discussing the challenge of jumping off the bridge and swimming back to shore in a group chat. According to the official, ‘quite a few’ other students may have also attempted the challenge but weren’t injured, WHNS reported.

‘The reports from an individual who was on shore sounded like the way he landed was awkward, which might have caused him to go into distress,’ Chief Deputy Chuck James told reporters.

TikTok trends or, you know, habits where people are trying to encourage people to jump off bridges or anything in that nature… I mean, it’s just inherently not safe,’ James added.

Rayan Alnasser and Zakaria Chaar drown after group chat dare to jump off South Carolina bridge goes wrong
Pictured, Twelve Mile River Bridge overlooking Lake Hartwell where the two South Carolina teens had jumped off into the water.

Signs on bridges at Lake Hartwell warn people not to jump off and into the water. 

Barwick said the lack of visibility in the water made it challenging for the rescue teams to locate the victims.

Al-Nasser and Chaar were sophomore students at D.W. Daniel High School in Central.

‘The School District of Pickens County (SDPC) is heartbroken to learn of the passing of two students from D.W. Daniel High School,’ a Pickens County School District spokesperson said in a news release.

‘Our deepest condolences and prayers go out to the families, friends, and the entire D.W. Daniel High School community. The loss of these young lives is a profound tragedy, impacting not only their families but also their classmates, teachers, and the broader community. In times like this, our priority is to provide the necessary support and care to our students, staff, and families’. 

Rayan played soccer for D.W. Daniel High School. His coach, Thomas Izaguirre Bonilla, posted a tribute to the teen on Facebook, describing his death as ‘the hardest news a coach could ever receive.’

‘I would give up every trophy and even my life for him to be back with his family,’ he wrote. ‘Rayan you will be missed. I will forever carry you in my heart. I love you Rayan rest easy.’

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