Hero dad dies after saving his three young children from drowning in river
A father drowned after saving his three children from drowning in a river where they were swimming before becoming "distressed".
The 42-year-old saved the lives of his three children, aged 8, 11 and 13 before he got into difficulty in the water and drowned, police have said. His body was recovered from the river three hours after the incident.
Emergency crews were called to a remote riverside spot along the Millstone River in New Jersey on Wednesday afternoon. Witnesses called 911 after noticing the children started to get into difficulty in the water.
Franklin Township Police said that the 42-year-old from the nearby town of South River man had gone into the water at around 2.15pm to help his children get out after they had become "distressed".
Dive teams searched the river for the body of the father-of-three for more than three hours (@CBSNewYork/Youtube)"The victim went into the water to help, pulled his children to the shallow water, but struggled to maintain his balance," Franklin Township Police said.
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By the time police arrived, they found three children, ages 8, 11, and 13, next to the canal but could not immediately locate their dad. Emergency teams checked over the children who did not require additional medical attention, police said.
Aerial footage from the scene shows search and rescue dive teams scouring the river as locals watch on from the riverside.
The 42-year-old's body was found after he went into the river top save his three children from drowning (@CBSNewYork/Youtube)Approximately three hours after the 911 call was made at around 5.30pm the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office dive team recovered the man's body. He has not yet been publically identified while police make contact with his family.
Last month New Jersey officials issued a stark warning after two teenagers drowned in swimming spots within days of each other. A 15-year-old drowned at the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area while in a separate incident, a 16-year-old drowned at the so-called 'Devil’s Hole' waterfall in Cedar Grove in the state.
New Jersey local TV stations covered the incident as it unfolded (@CBSNewYork/Youtube)In May of this year, a 15-year-old boy drowned and five people had to be rescued from the sea off the coast of New Jersey prompting local politicians to call for better water safety education in schools. New Jersey local politician Sean Kean has been fighting for a bill to require water safety education for many years.
He said: "If you start getting instruction when you're in kindergarten, by the time you're in high school, you're going to really have some knowledge or training."
In 2022 at least 28 people drowned in rivers, lakes and the ocean in New Jersey, local news outlets report.
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