Two Cleveland, Tennessee, men are dead after one jumped into the Tennessee River from a bluff in Meigs County and a second tried to save him but fell prey to the swollen, churning waters from last week’s storms.
“There was a small group that went down to the swimming-jump-off area on the river,” said Tony Finnell, Meigs County’s emergency management agency director, in a phone interview. “One of the young men, the 19-year-old, had jumped off into the water and wasn’t a very good swimmer. He immediately came up and started calling for help.”
Despite the choppy water, a second man, 20, jumped in, too, Finnell said. The incident happened Friday.
The bluffs where the accident happened are near the Blythe Ferry Boat Ramp, officials at the Meigs County Sheriff’s Office said when contacted by phone.