CHICAGO _ A 7-year-old boy died after he was one of nine people rescued Wednesday evening after a boat capsized in the South Branch of the Chicago River when a tugboat passed the smaller craft, officials said.
None of the victims were wearing life vests, according to Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.
The city's Office of Emergency Management and Communications began getting 911 calls about 6:40 p.m. of people in distress at 1500 S. Lumber St. and a full water response with about 20 crew went into action, Langford said. Emergency responders from the Coast Guard and the Chicago police marine unit were also on hand.
Nine people were pulled out of the water, officials said, including 7-year-old Victor Lobato, who was taken to Mercy Hospital & Medical Center in serious to critical condition. He later was pronounced dead in an apparent drowning, police said.
They learned the motorized boat Lobato was aboard with eight adults hit a wake caused by a passing tugboat and flipped over, Langford said. "When that happened, everybody was thrown into the water."
Two Fire Department divers who jumped from a helicopter began an underwater rapid grid search, starting at the point where the boat overturned, Langford said.
"That's what they're trained for. The visibility is usually zero and you can't see a foot in front of you. A lot of it is done by feel. They search with their hands more than their eyes," Langford said. "You also look to see if there is any kind of motion ... anything that you notice in your field of vision, you check it out."
A few minutes later, they found the boy underwater.
Divers plucked him out of the river and passed him over to a marine unit boat, where first responders began CPR on him. They didn't stop until Mercy Hospital & Medical Center staffers took over, Langford said.
"We don't stop. We don't give up on somebody," he said. "But a 7-year-old is not as strong as an adult."
Eight other adults from the same boat were also pulled from the water and taken to various hospitals, including the University of Illinois Medical Center, all in good condition.
Victor was from the 3000 block of South Homan Avenue in the Little Village neighborhood on the West Side, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.
It's unclear if the boat they were in, which was moving at the time, was rented or privately owned. A dive boss on the scene watched video, which showed that none were wearing life jackets.
The passing tugboat likely caused a "substantial wake," but "all boats are going to make a wake," Langford said.
There are things the boat can do to navigate through a wake _ sometimes by going parallel with it or other times plowing right through it.
"It's not to say the larger boat was improperly operating," he said
