Tragedy struck in an Ohio river as two married couples from Honduras were among the five adults who tragically drowned while attempting to rescue a swimmer in distress. Officials and family members have stated that the young children of one of these couples are now left without any living relatives in the United States.
The ill-fated evening saw Jose Mario Pineda Dias, 33, his wife Marina Suyapa Regalad, 28, along with their two children, accompanied by another married couple and a friend, head to the Scioto River on Sunday. Unfortunately, what started as a leisurely outing quickly descended into a heartbreaking incident, as confirmed by Honduran authorities.
The group was enjoying a peaceful night of fishing along the scenic banks of the O’Shaughnessy Reservoir. However, the tranquility was shattered when one man from the group decided to take a swim and soon found himself in peril, according to Delaware County Sheriff Jeffrey Balzer.
In a desperate bid to save him, two other adults plunged into the water. But as they began to struggle too, an additional two adults entered the river to assist, Sheriff Balzer explained during a news conference.
Tragically, Dias, Regalad, and the three others never surfaced from the river, leaving behind Dias’ and Regalad’s two young children, aged 8 and 10, as orphans, according to both authorities and grieving relatives.
Two women were pulled from the water and brought to hospitals where they were pronounced dead. Three men’s bodies were recovered from the river later on Monday.
Authorities rushed to the scene after a motorist noticed a “clearly distraught” young child wrapped in only a towel running along a nearby road around 9 p.m. and called 911.
The terrified child said that his “family was in the river,” cops said.
Honduran authorities confirmed that four of the five adults who died in the horrifying ordeal were citizens of Honduras, including two married couples.
The second couple and the fifth adult have not yet been identified by authorities.
Flabia Zamora, the director of consular affairs at the Honduran Foreign Ministry, told reporters on Tuesday that they were working with US authorities to bring their bodies home.
Once US officials complete identifying all of the victims, the Central American country will begin the repatriation process, which could take at least a month.
It still remains unclear how the group became swept under the water, which was running high and fast.
The river was flowing at a rate of 350 cubic feet per second on Sunday — more than double the average rate, according to data from a US Geological Survey water gauge at the nearby dam.
A photo taken by a passing boater appeared to show the crew thigh-deep in the river in Powell, north of Columbus, with fishing poles, surrounding a big log.
The two children are currently in the care of Ohio family services, and arrangements will be made to reunite them with their relatives in Honduras.
A relative of the couple, Brenda Raya, has launched a GoFundMe to cover funeral and transportation costs, as well as childcare expenses for the two children.
With Post Wires