Authorities have released new details about the death of a St. Paul, Minnesota man who was pulled from the Chicago River after attempting to retrieve a cell phone he dropped into the water, according to a report by the Chicago Tribune.

Just after midnight on Monday, 26-year-old Ken Hoang and 21-year-old Lauren Li plunged into the partially frozen river.

Lone survivor 23-year-old Quoc-Viet Phan Hoang was pulled from the water and is expected to be released from the hospital later today.

Phan Hoang responded to the tragedy in a heartrending post on Facebook saying:

"Life's too short .. I hope no one would ever have to go through something so unfortunate such as what has happened ... from the bottom of my heart I am sorry for what happened ... RIP Ken Hoang Lauren Li."

The three friends were visiting Chicago as part of a road trip from Minnesota to New Jersey, family say.

Attempting to retrieve a smartphone he'd dropped, Ken Hoang fell into the water after jumping over a riverside fence. His two friends fell into the river attempting to save him. Authorities believe alcohol was involved.

Ken Hoang was pronounced dead at the scene, while Li remains missing and is presumed dead.

The Ken Hoang Memorial Fund, created on charity fund-raising website YouCaring, has already raised almost $10,000 for Hoang's family.

--------------------------------------------------------

Welcome to TomoNews, where we animate the most entertaining news on the internets. Come here for an animated look at viral headlines, US news, celebrity gossip, salacious scandals, dumb criminals and much more! Subscribe now for daily news animations that will knock your socks off.

Check out our official website: http://us.tomonews.net/

For news that's fun and never boring, visit our channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/TomoNewsUS

Subscribe to stay updated on all the top stories:
http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=TomoNewsUS

Stay connected with us here:
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TomoNewsUS
Twitter @tomonewsus http://www.twitter.com/TomoNewsUS
Google+ http://gplus.to/TomoNewsUS