Six teens drown in the Red River
Youths ages 13 to 18 vanish in 18-foot sinkhole
Six teens drowned late Monday after disappearing into a sinkhole on the Red River, leading to a tragedy that Shreveport Fire Chief Brian Crawford called the worst he's ever seen.
Family members told authorities the victims, between the ages of 13 and 18 from three families, didn't know how to swim and were wading in shallow water. They had been in the lake for about 10 minutes near the sandbar at the Charles and Marie Hamel Memorial Park.
They had one life vest.
"One child ventured off into an area that he was unfamiliar with, and some of the other children had gone off with him," Crawford said. "They went into the vicinity of an 18-foot sinkhole. ... And once one started toppling into that sinkhole grabbing a hold of another, trying to save another, eventually seven were pulled into the hole."
A bystander jumped into the water and rescued a 15-year-old, but the other six went under and never resurfaced. The sixth body was recovered nearly three hours later, in water that authorities said was between 18-feet and 25-feet deep.
"Unfortunately, I'm afraid, and it's with a heavy heart, to report that we have pulled so far (six) bodies from the river. ... I can honestly say that in my 26 years of service I've never seen anything of this magnitude. And I hope I never see it again," the fire chief said.
Marilyn Robinson, a friend of the families, watched helplessly as the victims, five males and one female, went under. She said a large group of family and friends, including roughly 20 children, were out at the sandbar to barbecue, swim and have a good time.
They frequent the area and were familiar with the water, Robinson said.
"None of us could swim," the 38-year-old said. "They were yelling 'help me, help me. Somebody please help me.' It was nothing I could do but watch them drown one by one."
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