DETROIT – A teenage boy was pulled from the Detroit River on Saturday by paramedics and officers from the Detroit Fire Department after becoming submerged while playing with his friends at Belle Isle.
Officers from Michigan State Police and DNR gathered for the water rescue as a MSP helicopter circled above.
According to authorities, troopers assigned to Belle Isle were alerted at approximately 7:45 p.m. to a youth who had gone underwater and did not resurface. The boy was pulled from the water at 8 p.m. and was transported to Detroit Receiving Hospital.
The boy's parents followed closely behind the emergency medical services.
The victim is a 17-year-old from the Highland Park area. Medical personnel report he has a stable heartbeat and blood pressure, but is breathing on a ventilator.
Police said he was playing with other kids before going under water.
A couple of the boy's friends were distraught at the scene, speaking with a MSP trooper about what happened.
Medical staff are hoping that warming the boy up will allow him to breathe on his own.