Teen, ‘good Samaritan’ die after water rescue

The spillway below the Delaware Dam is known as a great spot to fish for carp and catfish, which prey upon smaller species that cascade from the reservoir. And Tuesday afternoon’s warm weather turned out dozens of anglers with poles and nets, including a group of teens from Columbus.

The idyllic setting turned chaotic shortly after 6:30 p.m. however, with the small pool leading into the Olentangy River being surrounded by rescue crews pulling people from its depths.

Two of those — a Columbus man described as a good Samaritan and a 17-year-old Westerville Central High School student — did not survive. Melvin Guerra Salvador, 20, and Nabin Bhandari, were pronounced dead within hours of being found.

Bhandari and three of his friends had found the fertile, yet precarious, perch along a concrete wall that acts as a buffer for the spillway water, according to Gage Guscoff, 25, who called 911 and later told The Dispatch that he had driven there to fish. He watched as the four repeatedly cast their net.

“It they caught one, they’d walk it to the shore,” said Guscoff, who was about 100 yards downstream.

That continued until he heard someone whistle. He looked up and saw one of the teens fall in, then another, in an apparent attempt to help.

“After that it was like all hell broke lose,” he recalled.

Salvador as not with the teens but jumped in to help. He struggled himself and fell under the water. So did Bhandari. Both died at OhioHealth Grady Memorial Hospital in Delaware.

Two 18-year-olds, Tek Adhikar, of Westerville, and Jeeban Adhikari, of Columbus, are recovering at area hospitals. The fourth boy who was with the group of teens and did not fall in the water was not named by authorities.

Salvador “was a good Samaritan who jumped into the water to save the life of a struggling teen,” Tracy Whited, Delaware County Sheriff ’s spokeswoman, said in an email to The Dispatch.

Bhandari, a high school junior, had recently filed paperwork to graduate early. He was “planning to enlist in the military when he was of age to do so, and had been reaching out to recruiters to find out the necessary next steps,” said Greg Viebranz, district spokesman.

His family of six sought refugee status in the U.S. from Nepal about 10 years ago, said Sudarshan Pyakurel, executive director of the Bhutanese Community of Central Ohio. Bhandari’s parents were visiting Nepal this week when they learned of their son’s death. Both are returning, Pyakurel said.

In a written statement, Westerville City Schools offered condolences to Bhandari’s family, stating in part: “We also extend our sympathies to the family and friends of the individual who attempted to save him during this unfortunate accident.”

Grief counselors will be available to students when they return from spring break on Tuesday.

‘Can’t get out of the current’

The teens were among dozens who were exploring and fishing on the spillway side of the dam located about 35 miles north of Columbus in northern Delaware County.

Emergency crews were called to the popular area around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday after receiving Guscoff ’s 911 call reporting multiple people flailing n the water at the dam site.

“He’s like swimming around and stuff and can’t get out of the current,” Guscoff told a dispatcher, describing one of the victims.

A few seconds later Guscoff said that someone had grabbed the person and was walking him to shore.

“He’s unresponsive. They’re dragging him to shore now,” he said. “There’s still two in the water.”

By the time Tri-Township Fire District personnel reached the scene, two teens were out of the water, said Chief Troy Morris. Medics performed CPR on at least one of them. But two others were still believed to be submerged.

There were as many as 30 young people at the site, said Morris, many with fishing poles. A concrete wall extends across the spillway, but when slightly submerged, the wall becomes dangerous to walk across, especially at its center where there is a gap to channel water.

“Apparently, they were walking on it,” Morris said.

Morris estimated that Bhandari and Salvador were submerged for 30 minutes to an hour, emerging with signs of life only because of the water temperature.

“It’s the cold water. It shuts down organs that are not vital,” he said.

A Spanish-speaking translator with the Powell Police Department assisted investigators from the Delaware County Sheriff ’s office. Water safety advice Tri-Township deployed a scuba diver and two other rescue personnel in the waist-deep water below the dam. A rubber lifeboat with two others searched downstream in the area about five miles north of the city of Delaware.

Morris cautioned people to stay away from unfamiliar areas, especially those who can’t swim.

“Stay on the banks. There’s no reason to be in the river,” he said.

The water rescue involved the response of multiple agencies in Delaware County, including the Tri-Township Fire District, which serves Delaware, Brown and Troy townships; the Delaware County Sheriff ’s office; Delaware County EMS, which handles all transports for Tri-Township; and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife.

Greg Feustel, who is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dam keeper, was called to the dam about 7 p.m. to close off the reservoir flow into the river in order to assist rescuers. He said it is unusual for the site to be visited at this time of year.

“But it was a beautiful day,” he added. “Still the water’s 50 degrees. It’s just not safe.”

Feustel said his district office likely will propose safety measures, “from posting signs to limiting access or closing the park every night,” he said. “How can we prevent something like this from ever happening again?”