Man pulled from Chicago River near Michigan Avenue bridge

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A man was pulled from the Chicago River Saturday morning by people aboard a Wendella Sightseeing tour boat near the Michigan Avenue bridge, police said.

Shortly before 11 a.m., witnesses said the man jumped 30 feet off the DuSable Bridge at Michigan Avenue into the water.

The tour boat captain helped rescue the man. Cellphone video was captured by Twitter user @JasonCCooper.

"We saw him hit the water, he was flailing around. It looked like he was drowning. The vessel went up to him, and went into man-overboard procedures," said Andrew Sargis, chief of operations of Wendella Sightseeing boats.

Sargis, the manager on duty, called 911 while crews on board grabbed a ladder, and held tight to the man, keeping his head above water.

"It was very hard for our crew to pull him onto the boat so what they did was prevented him from drowning," Sargis said.

Rescues like this are something that happen daily in the city, tour boat operators said.

"Definitely seen an increase in water rescues over the years," said Michael Borgstrom, president and owner of Wendella Sightseeing.

Borgstrom said the increase is due to the river being busier. His crews have rescued overturned kayakers, motorboaters and the occasional person who decides to go swimming and gets swept up in the current.

"As someone who makes a living on the water, it's your job to save people in distress and need and that's what we do," Borgstrom said.

The man was transported to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in good condition.