Boat capsizes on Lake Michigan in Chicago; one man unaccounted for
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A man remained unaccounted for Friday night after a boat capsized near 31st Street Beach on Lake Michigan.
Police said the boat flipped at 7:33 p.m. just south of 31st Street Harbor. CBS News Chicago has learned that more than a dozen people were on the boat.
A massive Chicago Police and Fire Department response followed, and the Coast Guard was in the air in a helicopter searching for anyone who might have been left in the water.
Video taken at the scene showed the boat lying on its side in the water as someone shouted that the Coast Guard was on the way. People on the shoreline rocks were also seen guiding boaters to safety as they swam to shore, while boaters in lifejackets were seen aboard smaller boats after being rescued.
At least three people who had been on the boat—two women and one man—were taken to Insight Hospital & Medical Center. It was not clear what type of injuries they may have suffered, but dispatch reports indicated they were in good condition.
One man of an unknown age remained missing as of late Friday night.
Wynter Barginear was on the boat. She was emotional and tearful as she recounted what happened.
"I'm traumatized. I'll probably never get on a boat again. I had a bad feeling when we got on the boat. It's just very traumatic. I, you know, fell in the water, head went under, popped up, grabbed the boat to save my life," she said, "and if it wasn't for these two wonderful people that came over to help save me, I could have lost my life tonight on just a recreational thing."
Barginear said the boat was a rented charter, and things started going wrong as they were pulling back into the harbor.
"We came around the corner, I told the captain that he boat was rocking really hard on the right. I told the captain, 'Do we need to distribute weight, because this is rocking pretty good?'" Barginear said. "He says, 'Oh no, it'll be OK. It'll be OK. As soon as he says that, the boat turns and flips over."
Barginear said her best friend went into the water—and several people on the boat, including her and her best friend, couldn't swim. She said her husband and four other people were trapped under the boat and had to break the glass to get out as water came in.
Barginear said she was celebrating a cousin's birthday with the group on the boat.
"And I mean, it's screaming—one person was, you know, my cousin whose birthday were celebrating, she was in the water, and they were screaming to get her," she said. "My other friend's boyfriend helped throw life vests and jackets to people to hold on."
Even those who were not injured in some instances had to walk back to their vehicles with no belongings or shoes—and some did not even have the keys to their cars. They lost all their personal effects when the boat flipped.
Survivors said the person who was missing late Friday was a man assisting the captain of the boat. It was not clear whom the man worked for.
The search seemed to have concluded for the night by 10 p.m., as the dive teams from the Fire Department, police Marine Unit, and Coast Guard had left the scene.
Crews were back out on the water to search for the missing man on Saturday.
