Jose Mario Pineda Dias and Marina Suyapa Regalado, Honduras married couple id as two of 5 foreign nationals who drowned in Scioto River in Powell, Ohio after attempting to save struggling swimmer.
Ohio authorities have identified two of the five people who drowned after they rushed into a river to help a struggling swimmer as a married couple hailing from Honduras.
Jose Mario Pineda Dias, 33, and Marina Suyapa Regalado, 28, drowned in the Scioto River in Powell on Sunday after an adult in their group went for a swim only to struggle in fast moving water.
The couple are also believed to be the parents of two young children, ages six and seven, who were present during the family tragedy.
Family tragedy as attempt to save struggling swimmer leads to drowning deaths of five
Officials have previously said members of their group had been fishing nearby when the swimmer began to struggle in the river.
They then raced into the water to help the swimmer, only to also struggle in the water.
‘That’s when the tragedy started to occur. I understand that one person got in the river, was struggling in the water. Two people went in to try to save them,’ according to Delaware County Sheriff Jeffrey Balzer.
‘Those people started struggling in the river. Now we have two additional people go in the water.’
When those two adults also began struggling, another two adults rushed into the river in a desperate rescue attempt, the sheriff explained. None of the five made it back to shore.
Scioto River drowning leaves two sets of parents dead and two children orphans
As the incident unfolded, a ‘clearly distraught’ young boy wrapped only in a towel ran along State Route 257 and told a driver that his ‘family was in the river,’ according to Balzer.
The motorist circa 9.25pm called 911, describing how the young boy was ‘screaming “Mama! Mama!”‘ and he was about to come out onto the road and he was crying.’
Responding deputies then found the two children at the scene, but a ‘language barrier’ between the cops and children made it difficult to determine how many people needed to be rescued.
‘The bodies are in there. There are two young juveniles [on shore] – a young male and a young female. They don’t have any parents,’ an officer said in dispatch radio obtained by the New York Post.
Another dispatcher then added: ‘We have some clothes and some shoes out in the water.’
First responders then had to request a Spanish speaker be sent to the scene to communicate with the children, and two women were later pulled from the water.
‘We got two victims in the raft at this time, we’re trying to resuscitate,’ a rescuer said. ‘We got two bodies total coming out right now. We’re not exactly sure how many are left in the water. We’re still looking for at least one.’
The two women were then rushed to a local hospital, where they were pronounced dead.
As crews then searched the waters into the night, rescuers found more clothing scattered in the water.
‘Boat 91 has a fourth shoe that is different from any previous found,’ a deputy could be heard saying over the radio. ‘Fourth shoe doesn’t match the others.’
Revelers and swimmers warned
Authorities’ efforts eventually transitioned from a rescue mission into a recovery option – and the bodies of the three men were found on Monday.
The tragedy led to the deaths of two sets of married parents along with a fifth person an adult male, leaving two young children orphans according to ABC10.
Flabia Zamora, the director of consular affairs at the Honduran Foreign Ministry, said the department is now working with US authorities to bring all five bodies home.
She said that once US officials identify all of the victims, Honduras will start the repatriation process – which could take a month.
The couple’s children remain in the care of the state of Ohio, but Zamora said efforts will be made to reunite them with relatives in Honduras.
Swimmer precautions
Water conditions of the river on Sunday were high and fast, according to data from a US Geological Survey water gauge at the nearby dam.
The river was flowing at a rate of about 350 cubic feet per second, which is more than double the average rate.
Balzer warned swimmers to take safety precautions, especially during the summer months.
‘Anytime you’re near water, you need to be confident in your swimming ability or have safety devices available. There’s no shame in wearing a life jacket. It saves lives every day,’ he said.
Balzer urged anyone entering the water to understand their swimming abilities and take proper safety precautions.
‘Know your skill level before you get in the water. Are you a confident swimmer?’ he said. ‘Make sure you have other people around in case something goes wrong to notify someone.’
Lt Heather Byers, of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, also noted that rivers can be deceptively calm on the surface.
‘Even though the water doesn’t seem to be moving very quickly, you can still get swept away in very slow-moving water,’ she said.
‘Also, since you can’t always see the bottom, you never know if you’re in, you know, you could be in two to three feet of water, what you’re comfortable standing in, and then the next thing you know you’re at four or five feet.’
People can also catch their feet between the rocks, snag their clothes on a low-hanging branch or lose their balance on slippery algae.
The drownings occurred along the O’Shaughnessy Reservoir. The reservoir and its 18 miles of shoreline are the property of the city of Columbus. According to the city’s Recreation and Parks Department, Jet Skis, tubing and swimming are not permitted in any city of Columbus reservoir.
