A violent storm swept across southern Wisconsin on Friday, turning a busy Fourth of July holiday weekend outing on Geneva Lake into a deadly emergency after a boat overturned, killing three people.
The severe weather moved into Walworth County around 12:10 p.m., bringing dangerous conditions to the area with little time for those on the water to react.
As the storm intensified, dispatchers began receiving urgent 911 calls about a capsized boat on Geneva Lake and several people in distress in the water.
Authorities were seen on a rescue boat following the fatal boating incident in Wisconsin. (WFLD)
A City of Lake Geneva police boat, along with the Geneva Lake Law Enforcement Agency, pulled seven people from the lake, Walworth County Undersheriff Tom Hausner said at a news conference. Three others, however, did not survive.
Emergency responders later recovered the bodies of the three victims.
Officials have not released the victims’ names. Sources told CBS News Chicago that all three of those who died were children.
Three people died after a boat overturned on Geneva Lake in Wisconsin during severe weather. (WFLD)
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The capsizing is under joint investigation by the Geneva Lake Law Enforcement Agency and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
Hausner said that while the county’s permanent population sits around 106,000, it surges to more than 200,000 visitors on holiday weekends like the Fourth of July.
“Our resources, not just the sheriff’s office, but all law enforcement resources and fire and EMS are stressed, and this compounded that to levels unprecedented,” Hausner said.
Lake Geneva, Wis. (Paola Giannoni/Getty)
The sheriff’s office initiated an emergency call-in of all off-duty deputies and requested mutual aid from Rock, Kenosha and Jefferson counties and the Wisconsin State Patrol and DNR.
City of Lake Geneva Mayor Todd Krause issued an emergency declaration at 12:18 p.m. after the high winds and heavy rains knocked down power lines, shattered trees, damaged buildings and left cars crushed.
Numerous storm-related injuries have been reported, forcing area hospitals to enact diversions due to the overwhelming volume of patients.
The Geneva Lake Law Enforcement Agency, City of Lake Geneva Police Department, Walworth County Sheriff’s Office and Walworth County did not immediately respond to additional inquiries from News Agency.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources referred all inquiries to the City of Lake Geneva Police Department.
