Three children die after boat capsizes on Geneva Lake during storm

A boat carrying about 10 people capsized near Big Foot Beach State Park on Geneva Lake on Friday as a fast-moving storm swept through southern Walworth County, killing three people and sending seven others into the water. The crash unfolded at the start of the Fourth of July holiday weekend, when severe weather moved across the lake region with little margin for error.

A source said the three who died were children. The Walworth County Sheriff’s Office said seven people were rescued from the water after the boat overturned on Geneva Lake in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

Walworth County Undersheriff Tom Hausner said the storm hit the southern part of the county around 12:10 p.m. and left widespread damage in its wake. Emergency calls came in for downed trees and power lines, crushed vehicles and people trapped in collapsed structures, a picture of how quickly the weather turned from a holiday outing into a countywide emergency.

The deaths are being investigated by the Geneva Lake Law Enforcement Agency and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The City of Lake Geneva issued a state of emergency after the storms, and officials said at least one other person suffered a minor injury after being struck by a falling tree.

The sequence of events put the central risk in sharp relief: a crowded boat on open water, a sudden storm, and a response window measured in minutes. With about 10 people aboard when the vessel overturned, the accident turned a summer afternoon on Geneva Lake into one of the region’s deadliest holiday weekend emergencies.