Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Rescue workers suspended their search for a missing woman who fell into the Chicago River on Monday (file photo)

A man is dead and a woman is missing after the man dropped his phone into the Chicago River and fell in after it, authorities say.

The incident occurred along a river walk on Monday when the man fell into the water while lunging for his phone.

A man and a woman went in after him, but only one was rescued and taken to a Chicago-area hospital.

Authorities continue to search for the missing woman, now presumed dead.

The incident occurred around midnight local time when the man, 26, dropped his phone and fell into the frigid water.

Rescue workers later pulled the two men from the water and both were taken to hospital, where the 26-year-old later died.

The second man, 23, remains in hospital.

Emergency crews and divers searched the water for the missing woman, 21, but suspended the rescue effort at 3:00 local time (9:00 GMT).

"We continued efforts for over an hour rotating divers; searches for the final victim were unsuccessful," Chicago Fire Department Chief Linda Parsons told the Chicago Tribune, adding it was now a recovery operation.