According to local authorities, a father from New Jersey perished on Wednesday while trying to save his three children who had become “distressed” while swimming on the Millstone River.
The 42-year-old Rolando Camarillo-Cholula perished after dragging his three kids—ages eight, eleven, and thirteen—into shallow water. As to the Franklin Township Police, the kids were having fun in a 39-mile-long tributary of the Raritan River.
In Franklin Township, roughly 43 miles southwest of New York City, on Canal Road between Coppermine & Old Georgetown roads, there was a complaint of “a man in the water, and three children on shore” at 2:15 p.m. Police were called.
Franklin Township Police published information that the father lost his balance when he stepped into the waters to try to help his kids. The police said that when they arrived at the incident, they found the kids on the shore but were unable to locate Camarillo-Cholula.
A little more than three hours later, right before 5:30 p.m., Camarillo-Cholula was found by divers from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, according to the police.
Police said that youngsters were treated by emergency medical workers on the spot. Police added that an inquiry into what caused the tragedy is under progress.
This is at least the third drowning death in New Jersey to be reported in the last three months. An unsecured place where swimming is prohibited, Sandy Hook Beach B, is where a fifteen-year-old kid drowned in May. When his teenage daughter was stuck in choppy waves, New York City firefighter Mark Batista, 39, of Teaneck, New Jersey, attempted to assist her but drowned at the Jersey Shore in June. His daughter survived the tragedy. Victor Rodriguez, 18, perished in a Pitman lake while participating in a scavenger expedition in June.
Authorities in Franklin Township issued an appeal to the public following Camarillo-death Holula’s, reminding them that “causeways, lakes, and other waterways can hide risks like hidden currents, unexpected depths, and cold shock,” and that they should be alert for signs in the vicinity of the incident that designate dangerous areas and activities.
The Millstone River is open for swimming, according to Lieutenant Vincent Wilson from the Franklin Township Police Department.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, men account for about 80% of drowning deaths, and the top cause of death for children between the ages of one and four is drowning. According to the CDC, it can be avoided by wearing a life jacket, checking the weather before swimming in natural waterways, and learning the fundamentals of swimming. It can happen quickly and silently.
The CDC estimates that there are more than 4,000 drowning deaths in the country each year. According to CDC data, New Jersey has one of the lowest rates of accidental drowning deaths in the country, with 0.77 deaths per 100,000 people.