Two of five drowning victims identified after rushing into Ohio River to help struggling swimmer

Two of the five people who died after getting into trouble in an Ohio river have been identified as a married couple who have young children.

Jose Mario Pineda Dias, 33, and Marina Suyapa Regalado, 28, from Honduras, drowned in the Scioto River in Powell on Sunday after a person in their group went for a swim and began to struggle. 

The couple are believed to be the parents of two young children, ages six and seven, who were present during the horrific family tragedy, the Associated Press reports. 

Officials said the group had gathered to 'enjoy themselves on a summer night' and were fishing when the heartbreaking incident unfolded. 

One member of the group entered the river and began to struggle, before the other four made their way into the water to help, but also wound up getting stuck. All five people, including the person who entered the water first, died. 

'I understand that one person got in the river, was struggling in the water. Two people went in to try to save them,' Delaware County Sheriff Jeffrey Balzer. 'Those people started struggling in the river. Now we have two additional people go in the water.'

As the ordeal 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 quickly 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.'

The unidentified driver then told dispatchers she was afraid the boy was headed onto a multi-lane road that snakes around the river's eastern banks.

Several other calls were made to emergency services around 9.25pm on the night of the tragedy. 

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 tragically 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.'

But eventually, authorities' efforts transitioned from a rescue mission into a recovery option - and the bodies of the three men were found on Monday.

Flabia Zamora, the director of consular affairs at the Honduran Foreign Ministry, said the department is now working with US authorities to bring their 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. 

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.

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 tragedy comes shortly after a 23-year-old woman lost her mother, stepdad, and three brothers in treacherous flash floods during a family hike in Utah. 

Spencer and Katrina Long, both 44, and their three sons, Thayne, 13, Gage, 12, and Reid, were swept away after 'heavy rain' came down on Friday near the Sunglow campground while they went hiking and canyoneering, the Wayne County Sheriff's Office said.

Deputies were first called to the campground that night after the body of a young man was found in the flood wash.

Spencer, a decorated Provo Fire Captain, and two of his sons, were located that night. His wife and their other son were discovered the following morning.