An 18-year-old woman drowned Monday after rescuing several children from rough water in a lake in Minnesota, authorities said.
A group of children swam Monday afternoon near Clearwater Lake, near Sinclair’s northern Minnesota township, when “some of them were trapped in the turbulent water that came over the dam,” the Clearwater County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.
“The water level at the dam was significantly higher due to the large amount of rain that was recently received,” the sheriff’s office said.
Several of the children were unable to free themselves and the 18-year-old helped pull them to safety before going underwater, witnesses told authorities. She was under water for about 10 minutes, witnesses said.
An 8-year-old girl pulled from the water was initially unresponsive, but witnesses performed CPR and were able to resuscitate the child, the sheriff’s office said.
Witnesses performed CPR on the 18-year-old near the river, but she could not be returned.
“All life-saving measures were taken, but medics were unable to resuscitate the eighteen-year-old,” according to the sheriff’s office, which said it was waiting to release its name.
The sheriff’s Facebook post was full of comments calling the woman a hero.
“So very sad. My thoughts and prayers go out to all families,” one person wrote. “She will be remembered as a hero!”
Another commented, “I really hope her family can find comfort in knowing their daughter, beloved, died as a hero so the babies can live.”
