(WTTW News)

A nine-year-old girl became the latest victim to drown in Lake Michigan in 2022, just two days after a 72-year-old man also drowned in the lake.

According to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, two girls were reported struggling in the water Tuesday afternoon off an unguarded portion of Marquette Beach in Gary. People on the scene were able to help bring one of the girls to safety, and the second girl was spotted by helicopter and pulled out of the water by rescue workers.

The girls, ages 14 and 9, were transported to Gary Methodist hospital. The older of the two was treated and released but the 9-year-old was pronounced dead. No additional information was provided by officials.

The drowning was the second in three days off the lake’s Indiana shores.

On Sunday, lifeguards responded to a report that a man had gone under the water and not resurfaced at Indiana Dunes State Park. Police, fire and EMS from Porter County responded, along with Indiana Conservation Officers. Following a 15-minute search, lifeguards found the man in approximately 7 feet of water, 100 feet from shore, officials said. 

The man, 72-year-old Kirshnaraju Rudraraju of Woodridge, Ill., was taken to Northwest Health Porter Hospital in critical condition and later died.

There have now been 22 drownings in Lake Michigan in 2022, and 53 total in the Great Lakes overall, according to the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project. 

Contact Patty Wetli: @pattywetli | (773) 509-5623 |  [email protected]