Man drowns at Baxter in Deerfield

One man drowned but another was rescued while the two were working to clean a pond at Baxter HealthCare Corp. in Deerfield Tuesday afternoon, officials said.

Rescue crews from the Deerfield-Bannockburn Fire Protection District responded at 1:15 p.m. to a call for a "diver who ran out of air," according to Battalion Chief Jim Philip.

Paramedics arrived to find two divers in the water. Philip said the call was immediately upgraded to a box alarm that alerts dive teams and rescue workers from 14 different departments.

The man who drowned was 45 years old, with a last known address in Colorado. He was airlifted to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, where he was pronounced dead. His name was being withheld Tuesday until his family could be notified, officials said.

The second man was trying to help the Colorado man as crews arrived, officials said. He was pulled from the water by rescue crews within 6 minutes and transported to Highland Park Hospital, Philip said.

The two men are employees of Crete-based U.S. Aqua Vac, Inc. The company specializes in lake and pond cleaning services.

Neither U.S. Aqua Vac nor Baxter officials could be reached for comment Tuesday.

Detectives believe the incident to be an accident, but will continue to investigate further, said Sgt. Christopher Thompson of the Lake County Sheriff's Department.