Woman killed, 6 others injured after boat capsizes near Navy Pier
CHICAGO - A woman is dead and several others were injured after the boat they were on capsized early Friday morning in Lake Michigan.
Around 3 a.m., the Chicago Fire Department responded to a distress call after high winds and waves toppled a boat carrying seven passengers near Navy Pier, leading to search and rescue efforts for those on board.
Chicago’s Deputy Fire Chief, Jason Lach, described the weather conditions that complicated his team’s efforts during a news conference.
"About three o’clock this morning, we had a huge increase in wind and wave activity. We went from a one to a three knot wind up to gusts over 30 miles an hour. We went from wave heights up to six inches to a foot, so it made rescue and recovery a lot more difficult because of the conditions."
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Seven adults, all between the ages of 20 and 40, were onboard when the boat reportedly slammed into a break wall and capsized as it was returning to shore.
Four women and two men were rescued from choppy waters, leaving one remaining passenger missing. The search quickly turned into a recovery mission as the Marine Unit discovered the body of the seventh passenger, a 20-year-old woman, who was pronounced dead.
One of the victims told FOX 32 that the woman who died was trapped between the boat and the rocks when it capsized, and they couldn't get to her. She's been identified by the coroner as Briana Joyburden.
Experienced boater Ted Widen says navigating Lake Michigan’s massive break wall in the dead of night demands experience.
"Everything else is just black so when you’re coming in, I think where they were, which is where I was coming in from, there’s an angle there and you can’t see that at all."
As the sun came up over Lake Michigan, the boat’s hull became clearly visible bouncing alongside the break wall.
A capsized boat was discovered near navy Pier on Lake Michigan after six people were rescued from it and a woman was killed.
Widen tells FOX 32 that anyone who is thinking about spending time out on the water in the evening hours needs to consider the extreme lack of illumination before setting out.
"Once the sun goes down in Chicago, you can’t see anything. These break walls are not lit up at all. The only thing that’s lit up on the two and a half miles are the entrances. There are three entrances with a red light and a green light, and each one we’re talking about maybe 200 yards out of two-and-a-half miles."
In a tragic twist to this story, during the recovery of the 20-year-old woman killed in the accident, an unidentified male body was recovered from the scene. The man was reportedly not a passenger on the capsized boat.