15 pulled from Lake Michigan in 2 separate Waukegan incidents

Waukegan fire officials rescued 15 people from Lake Michigan Saturday in two separate incidents that occurred at the same time.

Emergency crews received reports that 14 people had fallen off their boat and into the water about 6:30 p.m., Waukegan Fire Marshal Steve Lenzi said. As they were arriving to that incident, someone in a “private vessel” rode up and told them that a man had fallen off a nearby jet ski and gone under the water.

The crews rushed to the scene of the jet ski incident and pulled the man out from under the water after an unknown amount of time, Lenzi said. He was taken to a local hospital in critical condition.

After the jet skier was recovered, the fire crews focused on assisting the U.S. Coast Guard with removing the other 14 people, Lenzi said. None of those people were injured and the situation was concluded about 9:30 p.m.

“As we were wrapping up in dark conditions, it was getting pretty rough out,” Lenzi said. “We ask the public to stay safe as we enjoy these last few gorgeous days of summer.”