Third body recovered after collision between pleasure boat and tow in Illinois (UPDATE)

The following is the text of a news release from the U.S. Coast Guard:

(CLEVELAND) — Crews have recovered a third body Monday from a collision between a recreational vessel and a barge that occurred late Friday evening in the Cal-Sag Channel near Palos Hills, Ill.

At about 10 a.m. local time, a man's body was recovered about 1.5 miles west of the Worth Boat Launch. He was the last of the three victims recovered during the search.

The man was not wearing a life jacket.

The case began on Friday at about 11 p.m. local time, when a crewmember onboard the 66-foot uninspected towing vessel Bill Arnold notified watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan, in Milwaukee, of a collision with a 19-foot pleasure craft in the Cal-Sag Channel near mile marker 311. The Coast Guard and other emergency responders immediately began searching for occupants of the pleasure craft.

Involved in the response were boat crews from Coast Guard Station Calumet Harbor, Ill., aboard a 25-foot response boat; an aircrew from Coast Guard Air Facility Waukegan, aboard a Dolphin helicopter; inspectors from Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Chicago; crews from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources; crews from the Palos Hills and Lockport, Ill., fire departments, with dive teams and side-scan sonar aboard; and crews from the Palos Hills and Worth, Ill., police departments.

Report from June 22

(CHICAGO) — At least two people were killed in a collision between a pleasure boat and a towing vessel with six barges, the Chicago Tribune reported. The accident in the Cal-Sag Channel involved the towing vessel Bill Arnold. The Coast Guard said two bodies have been recovered.

Click here to view the newspaper's story and a video report.

By Professional Mariner Staff