EAST CHICAGO, Ind. (WLS) — A man is recovering on Saturday morning after a boat capsized in Lake Michigan, killing another man on board.
The incident took place on a Friday afternoon near East Chicago, Indiana, just off the coastline. According to the Lake County Sheriff’s office, two individuals were fishing on a boat when it overturned and sank into the water.
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Crews are expected to back out on the lake on Saturday morning, working to bring back that boat.
The man who died was later identified as 73-year-old Thomas Barragan of Oak Forest.
Officials say Barragan went missing after the boat capsized. Divers later recovered his body, and he was pronounced dead on the scene.
The other man in the boat at the time is also from Oak Forest, officials said. A good Samaritan rescued him in a different nearby fishing boat.
He was taken to a local hospital in unknown condition, officials said. ABC7 was told he has hypothermia, but is expected to survive.
Reports indicated that there were waves measuring between 5 to 6 feet high in Lake Michigan that Friday, with the water temperature at a chilling 37 degrees at the time of the accident. The 19-foot fishing boat capsized near the East Chicago steel mill, leading to the unfortunate incident.
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources is investigating.
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