SULLIVAN — It was a hot, late summer weekend that ended in tragedy as emergency crews responded to multiple water rescue incidents on Saturday and Sunday.

The New York State Police (NYSP) confirmed that at least two people drowned in two separate incidents –– one on White Lake in the Town of Bethel and the other on the Delaware River near Barryville.

White Lake
Emergency responders were dispatched to White Lake on Sunday, August 28 around 2:15 p.m. after the Town of Bethel Constable boat reported that three people had gone under the water and never resurfaced.

According to NYSP Public Information Officer Steve Nevel, they were a family from Bellerose, New York, who had gone swimming that morning.

NYSP say that it was around 2 p.m. when Basir Amin, 18, began to struggle in the deep portion of the lake. His sister, Nasrin Amin, 21, and his uncle, Afrid Haider, 34, tried to help him when all three slipped below the surface of the water.

How long they were under water is not clear, but all three were eventually brought back to the surface and transported to shore where life saving measures were started immediately.
All three were transported to Garnet Medical Center - Catskills.

State Police say that Basir Amin was pronounced deceased. Nasrin Amin and Afrid Haider were both listed in critical condition as of Monday morning.

Responding to the scene were boats and firefighters from the Kauneonga Lake Fire Department and White Lake Fire Company along with the Sullivan County Dive Task Force and divers from Orange County. Medical services on the scene included Hatzalah EMS, the Bethel Volunteer Ambulance Company and Mobilemedic EMS. They were joined by the New York State Police and the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office.

The Delaware
On August 27 at approximately 3:10 p.m., the NYSP from the Liberty barracks responded to Indian Head Campgrounds in Barryville for a report of a drowning. According to the NYSP, a preliminary investigation revealed that Brian J. Ordenia-Flores, age 22, from Richmond Hill, was rafting on the Delaware River with family and friends.

At approximately 1 p.m. the NYSP says the family tied up the raft and began swimming in the river. Flores attempted to swim to an island in the middle of the river when he became fatigued and was caught in the current and began to drift down the river.

The NYSP further reports that Flores was found a short time later by members of the National Park Service (NPS) who immediately began life saving measures. He was transported to Columbia Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced deceased.