An urgent search for two boaters who went underwater along Lake Michigan near Hammond, Indiana, was suspended late Friday evening, authorities said.
At around 3 p.m., emergency personnel were on scene at the Hammond Marina, 701 Casino Center Dr. Footage showed one man being escorted off a U.S. Coast Guard boat, being placed onto a stretcher and wheeled into an ambulance. He was transported to the hospital in unknown condition.
Two other boaters had yet to be located as of Friday night. According to police, 12 people were out on a motorboat near Hammond when the incident occurred.
One of those individuals jumped off into the water to swim and began to struggle because of the wind and waves, prompting the others to try and move the boat toward him, said Indiana Conversation Officer Alex Neel. However, they weren't able to because of the conditions.
A second individual jumped in to help, and both of those people began struggling in the water. A third person put on a lifejacket in an attempt to help and jumped into the lake, Neel said. However, all three individuals got separated.
The man wearing the lifejacket was rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard, taken to the hospital and later released.
Authorities said the missing individuals were men from Elk Grove Village and Mount Prospect, but didn't provide additional details.
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Following the incident, Neel urged boaters and swimmers to pay attention to the forecast and take other steps to prevent tragedy.
"Know the water, have a marine radio so you can radio for help," Neel said. "In this situation they did have flares and the first help arrived because they shot flares into the air. A civilian boat saw and went out to help, and that is how we were able to locate them."
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Longtime boaters shared warnings as well.
"Lake Michigan is very rough. Unpredictable," said boater Raymond Noble. "Watch out for the lake it will turn on you in a second."
