South Carolina

SC teen drowned trying to save brother in state's 'deadliest body of water'

SUNSET, S.C. — A 15-year-old South Carolina boy drowned trying to save his younger brother in what officials say is the state's deadliest body of water.

News outlets report Sahiyd Thomas died Friday after attempting to save his 12-year-old brother in Lake Keowee, near Keowee Toxaway State Park.

[ALSO READ: Body of missing 22-year-old swimmer recovered from Lake Norman]

Pickens County Deputy Coroner Gary Duncan says Thomas noticed his brother struggling in the lake and pushed him back to shore. He says Thomas went backward and under the water.

Duncan says Thomas was on a camping trip with a church. His younger brother's condition wasn't immediately released.

Oconee County Coroner Karl Addis says 32 people have died in Lake Keowee over the past 25 years. Twenty-year-old Jose Adrian Ramirez drowned in the Fall Creek Landing area of Lake Keowee last month.