(WWJ) -- It's been a very dangerous year for swimming in Lake Michigan, with 24 drownings so far.
Just earlier this week, officials say a 9-year-old girl drowned at Marquette Beach in Gary, Indiana after she was seen struggling along with another girl.
And back in May, two people drowned at Warren Dunes State Park -- the only drownings that occurred in Michigan.
WOOD-TV reports that emergency crews responded to a number of drownings in Lake Michigan and nearby channels on Wednesday, with at least three bodies recovered. A fourth person is still missing.
The first drowning occurred around 7:30 p.m. at North Beach in South Haven. Two adults and three kids were seen struggling in the water, the Van Buren County sheriff told News 8. The adults and two of the kids were able to be saved.
The young boy, of Texas, who is reported to be around 7 or 8 years old, washed up on shore, the sheriff said. CPR was administered and he was brought to the hospital, but he later died.
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The sheriff said a 33-year-old man, of Ohio, had tried saving him, but he is presumed to have drowned, the South Haven Police Department said in a release.
The sheriff’s office said they were continuing the search for him on Thursday morning with dive teams. The public is asked to stay away from North Beach while the search is ongoing.
Witnesses told police that the conditions at the lake had “deteriorated rapidly before the incident.”
Another drowning occurred at North Beach Park in Ferrysburg, where a teenager started struggling in the water around 7:50 p.m., the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office said in a release. A 16-year-old from Norton Shores was at the beach with a church group, when deputies say water conditions pushed him out of the designated swimming area.
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It was reported that beachgoers tried to save him but were not able to reach him before he went under. Multiple agencies, including the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office dive team and the Coast Guard, were on scene looking for him, dispatch told News 8.
First responders ended up recovering his body and provided life-saving efforts, but were unsuccessful and the teenager died.
The Grand Haven Tribune reports a 60-year-old man also drowned Wednesday.
This trend has led to many beaches closing off the waters to swimmers.
Holland State Park in southwest Michigan announced on their Facebook page Wednesday night that it will be temporarily closed due to dangerous currents.
