2 rescued from water at Montrose Harbor

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago fire officials said two people were rescued from Lake Michigan at Montrose Harbor Tuesday evening.

Fire officials said the two were rescued shortly after 7 p.m. Witnesses said a man had gone under the cold water and hadn't resurfaced.

"We realized somebody was in the water that wasn't able to get out. I took my bag off and ran down the pier, checking the sides," said Emirano Eperiam.

Somehow his friend, they said, was able to climb onto the pier on his own and point rescue divers in the right direction.

"Finally I'm guessing after 30 minutes of this guy under water they finally found him on the bottom. We pulled him out and they went to CPR right away," Eperiam said.

Inside a dive team truck rescuers kept trying to save him, before racing off in an ambulance.

Fire officials said the man was taken to a local hospital in critical condition.

It was the same group of divers who responded to an incident Tuesday morning in which they pulled an unresponsive 13-year-old from Lake Michigan near Rogers Beach. While the air is hot, the water is not and most swimmers will be overtaken by the cold.

"It's 52 degrees, the water is dangerous. Even experienced swimmers have difficulty in this temp," said Ron Dornicker, CFD Marine and Dive Operation.