Two women and three men were confirmed dead on Monday following an apparent mass drowning in Ohio. The event began when two adults entered the water to assist a struggling swimmer, after which two more adults attempted their own rescue efforts, officials stated.

The Delaware County Sheriff's Office indicated the tragedy occurred Sunday night along the Scioto River at the O'Shaughnessy Reservoir, approximately 10 miles northwest of Columbus, Ohio, the state capital and largest city.

A group of at least seven people, including two sets of parents, an adult male friend, and two children, were gathered along the riverbank near sunset, with some fishing, when one adult entered the water to swim, according to Sheriff Jeffrey Balzer.

When the swimmer started to struggle, two other adults attempted to help but also began to flounder, prompting two more adults to try rescues before all five vanished beneath the surface, Balzer told reporters at a Monday news conference.

"It is not unusual for one person to struggle in the water and others to attempt a save without the necessary skills, resulting in multiple deaths," the sheriff said.

Authorities received alerts after one of the two children ran to a nearby road and stopped a motorist, informing the driver that "his family was in the river," Balzer said.

Two women and three men dead, two children placed with family services

Emergency crews arrived quickly and recovered two women from the water. Both were pronounced dead shortly afterward at a local hospital, according to Balzer.

The bodies of the three missing men were recovered the following day, a sheriff's office spokesperson, Tracy Whited, later confirmed to media outlets.

The sheriff noted that the two children, both under age 10, have been placed in the care of the local family services agency.