A fifth-grade teacher and a 10-year-old student have died after a school field trip to an Iowa lake ended in tragedy.
Authorities identified the victims as Hannah Jorgensen, 24, a teacher at Borlaug Elementary School, and fifth-grader Ahmed Osman, 10.
The horrifying incident unfolded Tuesday, Sept. 22, during a School of the Wild field trip at the Macbride Nature Recreation Area near Lake Macbride State Park.
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office said emergency crews were called around 12:10 p.m. after receiving reports of people in the water near the Coralville Reservoir spillway.
First responders recovered Jorgensen from the water at about 12:43 p.m.
She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Crews then launched an extensive search for Ahmed, who remained missing into the evening.
Divers, firefighters, law enforcement officers, emergency medical crews and other agencies searched the area for hours before recovery efforts were suspended overnight because of conditions.
The search resumed Wednesday morning.
At 1:24 p.m., authorities said first responders recovered Ahmed’s body from the Coralville Reservoir.
The sheriff’s office later publicly identified both victims.
Exactly what happened before Jorgensen and Ahmed entered the water has not been released.
Authorities have described the incident as an accident and said the investigation remains ongoing.
The Iowa City Community School District said Jorgensen and Ahmed were both deeply valued members of the Borlaug Elementary community.
“Hannah and Ahmed were deeply valued members of our school district community, and their loss is being felt throughout Borlaug and across our district,” the district said.
School officials said their hearts were with Jorgensen’s family, colleagues and students, as well as Ahmed’s family, classmates and friends.
The tragedy occurred during the school’s fifth-grade School of the Wild program.
The outdoor education program is designed to give elementary and middle school students hands-on experiences in nature and environmental education.
The district has now canceled School of the Wild field trips for the foreseeable future.
Counselors and additional support staff are also being made available to students and employees at Borlaug Elementary as the school community begins dealing with the loss.
The emergency response involved a large number of agencies, including the Johnson County Metro Dive Team, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Iowa State Patrol, local fire departments, ambulance crews, University of Iowa police and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Officials have not released further details about what led to the accident.
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office said all other witnesses and people who were at the scene have been accounted for.
For Borlaug Elementary, what was supposed to be a day of outdoor learning instead became an unimaginable tragedy involving a young student and one of his teachers.
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