Two girls pulled from Lake Michigan at Gary beach, 1 dies

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GARY, Ind. (AP) — One girl died and another was released after treatment at a hospital after they were pulled from Lake Michigan after struggling in the water Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.

Visitors were able to pull one of the girls from the water at Gary's Marquette Beach but the other remained underwater until a Lake County Sheriff’s Department helicopter located her in the water and directed responders to her location, Indiana conservation officers said.

A 9-year-old girl was pronounced dead at Gary Methodist hospital, officers said. A 14-year-old girl was released after treatment there.

Their names haven't been released. The Lake County coroner will conduct an autopsy to determine 9-year-old's cause of the death.

This news follows the news yesterday that a 72-year-old Woodridge man died in Lake Michigan at Indiana Dunes State park.

The Porter County Coroner’s Office said Kirshnaraju Rudraraju of Woodridge, Illinois, died Sunday.

Around 10:30 a.m. Sunday, conservation officers on patrol at the park responded to the beach area after a lifeguard was notified a man had gone underwater without resurfacing, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources said in a news release.

Lifeguards began to search the swim area as first responders went to the scene, the release said.

After about 15 minutes, lifeguards found the man submerged in about 7 feet (2.1 meters) of water and 100 feet (30.5 meters) from the shore.

Lifeguards brought him to the surface and started CPR while bringing him to shore, the release said.

On shore, a conservation officer and an off-duty firefighter from the Indianapolis Fire Department continued CPR.

Rudraraju was transported to a hospital where he died around 3 p.m.

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