Cincinnati man dies while jumping into water at White Rock Park

A 30-year-old man from Cincinnati died Thursday at White Rock Park , 35 miles southeast of Indianapolis, after he and a friend jumped from a dive platform into 20 feet of water.

The man's name was not being released pending notification of family, said Corey Narrod, a conservation field officer with the law enforcement division of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

An autopsy will have to be completed to determine the cause of death, Narrod said.

The friends jumped together off a 30-foot platform into the water, and the 30-year-old appeared to land oddly and then did not surface, witnesses later told investigators.

Others at the park placed a 911 call about 3:32 p.m.; the man's body was recovered shortly after 5 p.m. in 19 feet of water, Narrod said.

Narrod said signage clearly says only one person at a time should jump from the platform, a rule aimed at preventing people from inadvertently knocking into each other in the air or landing on top of each other in the water. The autopsy could determine whether anything like that was a factor in Thursday's death.

The park does not have life guards, Narrod said, but employees walk the area with whistles, monitoring activities and enforcing posted park rules.

"It's just a real tragedy to start off the summer like this," he said.

"It's just really a reminder that you've got to be safe, you've got to follow the rules," Narrod said. "If you don't, accidents like this can happen."

Call Star reporter Diana Penner ?at (317) 444-6249 and follow her on Twitter @dianapenner.