Man dies, another rescued from Lake Michigan at 12th Street Beach, police say

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago police said a man died and other was rescued from Lake Michigan at 12th Street Beach off Museum Campus Wednesday.

Police said they were called to the beach in the 1300-block of South Lakeshore Drive around 1:30 p.m. to help find two men who had jumped into the lake.

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"I realized the two people were drowning over there and people were trying to get the lifeguards attention," said witness Milagros Ponce. "We were like 'Oh god they're drowning. There's people actually drowning.' We finally get lifeguards to come over, they save one person and couldn't find the other."

Rescuers were able to rescue both men. One was alert at the time of rescue while the other was unresponsive and taken to Northwestern Hospital in critical condition.

"They were reviving him in the water, and they brought him to shore and tried to revive him again," Ponce said.

That's when trained rescuers began searching beneath the surface mostly around the break wall just south of Adler Planetarium.

"It took too long to get there and rescue the person. I should've gone out there and rescued them myself but they said don't go in the water, don't go in the water," said witness Sebastian Reyes.

That second man later died.

The beach was marked with red flags Wednesday, warning beachgoers of the life-threatening rip current in the lake. Witnesses say the two men who had to be rescued were out of sight of the lifeguards.

In dangerous rip current conditions, swimmers should flip over onto their backs and float, keep their heads above water and calm down, then follow the current parallel to the shoreline for a safe path out of the water.