A 22-year-old College of Nebraska Omaha basketball participant drowned within the Blackridge Reservoir in Utah over the weekend.
Police said they responded to a name at 5:40 p.m. on Saturday night relating to two individuals struggling within the reservoir in Herriman, Utah.
Sa Mafutaga, 21, made it to the shore earlier than going again into the reservoir to try to assist Deng Mayar, 22. After Mafutaga was unable to assist Mayar, bystanders entered the water to rescue him. Mafutaga was transported to a hospital and is anticipated to get well.
Police mentioned Mayar went underwater about 35 toes from the shore. Authorities used a submersible to conduct an hourslong seek for him. His physique was recovered by a diving workforce at 11 p.m., and he was pronounced lifeless.
Mayar, a 6-foot-7-inch ahead from Utah, performed on the College of North Dakota earlier than becoming a member of the Omaha males’s workforce. Chris Crutchfield, the Omaha males’s basketball head coach, said in a statement that this system is “devastated” over the 22-year-old’s demise.
“After competing in opposition to him for 2 years, we have been elated so as to add him to our workforce and he made super progress this summer time,” Crutchfield mentioned. “Deng was a pleasure to be round and made our tradition higher. We’ll miss him drastically. [My wife] Jodi and I, together with our complete program, ship our hearts and prayers to Deng’s household, mates and teammates.”
Mayar was finding out within the enterprise administration graduate program in Omaha and leaves behind his dad and mom and 6 siblings.
AP Photograph/Charlie Neibergall
Blackridge Reservoir closed after Mayar’s drowning, however reopened Monday morning. According to Herriman, Utah’s website, the reservoir has no lifeguard on obligation, however guests can paddleboard and kayak there after finishing a compulsory mussel-aware boater course. A spokesperson from town of Herriman instructed HuffPost that the Blackridge Reservoir is a relaxed and nonetheless physique of water.
In June 2016, a 31-year-old man drowned within the reservoir — the third drowning there because it opened in 2009, according to KSL News Utah. The outlet reported that the reservoir is 15 toes deep in some areas.
