3 dead in Chicago sailboat accident

A 35-foot racing sailboat capsized, struck a breakwater and broke apart in rough conditions on Lake Michigan, killing three of the four men aboard, authorities said Thursday.

The men, part of a racing team, were sailing to a dry-dock facility on the Calumet River on Chicago's far South Side on Wednesday night when one of them fell overboard, Coast Guard Boatsmate 1st Class Michael Arnold said.

The three men on board called the Coast Guard and local authorities, then began searching for the missing man themselves, he said.

As they tried to pull him from the water, the boat struck the breakwater and broke up in the 10-foot waves, Arnold said.

"We found a 5-foot section of the bow, but we're still looking for the rest," he said.

A small craft advisory had been in effect since Tuesday afternoon because of high winds and waves.

The men had been in the 58-degree water for about 45 minutes. All four were wearing lifejackets, but rescuers were unable to resuscitate three of them, Arnold said.

The survivor, Joseph Sunshine, 34, was treated at a hospital and released. He identified two of the victims as the boat's owner, John Finn, 45, and crew member Adam Kornen, 33, both of Chicago, said Indiana Conservation Officer Gene Davis. Sunshine did not know the name of the fourth man, Davis said.

Authorities were awaiting the results of autopsies to determine whether the men died of hypothermia or injuries related to the breakup of the boat, he said.