Swimmer who drowned at Illinois Beach State Park identified

ZION, Ill. - A swimmer died after he was pulled from the water at a beach in Zion Saturday night. 

The Beach Park Fire Department responded to Illinois Beach State Park just after 8 p.m. for a call about a swimmer in distress. 

A 26-year-old man went under the water and never resurfaced. Firefighters and paramedics from Beach Park and Zion searched the area where he was last seen. 

Two hours later, the swimmer was found and pulled out of the lake.

He was transported to Vista Medical Center in Waukegan where he was pronounced dead. On Monday, he was identified as Akshith Reddy Bhandra of New York by the Lake County Coroner's Office. Examination results indicated Bhandra died from drowning.

A preliminary investigation determined Bhandra and his two friends, 26 and 28, were swimming from the shore to a rock wall, officials said. Bhandra was unable to make it to the wall when he went under the water.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources continues to investigate.