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A fast-moving, destructive storm ripped through southern Wisconsin on Friday, leaving three people dead after their boat overturned on Geneva Lake during the busy Fourth of July holiday weekend.
The tragedy unfolded as a powerful storm system swept across Walworth County starting at roughly 12:10 p.m. local time.
Amid the chaos, local dispatchers received urgent 911 calls reporting that a boat had capsized on Geneva Lake with multiple people struggling in the water.
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A City of Lake Geneva police boat and the Geneva Lake Law Enforcement Agency successfully rescued seven people from the water, but three people could not be saved, Walworth County Undersheriff Tom Hausner said during a news conference.
Emergency crews later recovered their bodies.
Authorities have not yet released the identities of the three victims who died, though sources told CBS News Chicago they were all children.
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The capsizing is currently 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.
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The sheriff’s office initiated an emergency call-in of all off-duty deputies and requested mutual aid from Rock, Kenosha and Jefferson counties, as well as 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.
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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 Fox News Digital.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources referred all inquiries to the City of Lake Geneva Police Department.
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