Boy, 5, dies after being rescued from Jackson Park harbor

A 5-year-old boy died this evening after he was rescued from the Jackson Park Yacht Harbor on the South Side, officials said.

The boy had been taken to Comer Children's Hospital in very critical condition after being taken out of the harbor by divers, said Chicago Fire Department spokesman Chief Joe Roccasalva.
The child was on the D Dock in between his mother and father when he fell in around 4:23 p.m. and went under, according to Chicago Fire Department Batallion Chief Richard Cooper.

A fire department helicopter arrived first to the scene and after spotting the child in the water, dropped in two divers who began executing a full water rescue response, Cooper said. The water is about 16 feet deep in that area, Cooper said. Civilians on nearby boats also jumped in to help with the search.

David Ward, 56, of Hyde Park said he was at the yacht club when he heard the mother screaming for help and ran over to help rescue the boy. But the water, he said, was too murky to see anything clearly.

"The level of nutrients in the water is too high," he said. "The plants and algae are growing out of control."

Fire department rescuers pulled the child out of the water after a 7- to 10-minute search, Cooper said.

"He and his family were walking along the pier when he fell in," Roccasalva said. "It appears he was in the water about twenty minutes when we were able to pull him out."

He said paramedics gave the boy CPR before taking him away by ambulance.

Yacht club member David Travis was just getting off his boat when he also heard the commotion on a nearby dock as a mother was screaming, holding a baby in her arms, another at her side.

"Then I saw a lot of yacht members jumping  in to help, but the water was murky, and visibility is best 2-3 feet. There just wasn't much we could do, " he said.

He said he thought the boy might have been in the water at least ten minutes.

"We constantly try to get the message out that whether you're in a boat or on the pier, a lifejacket is vital, Travis said. "You just can't take those kind of chances. We're constantly telling people."

Travis said he knew most of the members of the club, and believed the boy and his family were guests.

Officials said the child was not wearing a life jacket, something Ward said was the less important issue.

"It's more important to get your children into swimming programs when they're young," he said.