Man is believed to have ended up in the Passaic River Monday
NEWARK -- Scuba teams, police and other rescue workers responded after receiving reports a man ended up in the Passaic River early Monday night, Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said.
Around 6:30 p.m. firefighters were seen probing the water with long poles at the riverbank near Raymond Boulevard and Madison Street in an area fenced off to the public as a rescue boat cruised a short distance away downriver. Dive teams from Wallington and Lyndhurst were also assisting in the search.
Friends of the victim called police around 5 p.m. and said the man wound up in the water. He was swept away before his friends could assist him, the friends told police.
It was not known why the people were at the riverbank, Ambrose said.
The man is not believed to have been attempting suicide nor do police believe he fell in accidentally, Ambrose said. Police were still interviewing witnesses later Monday night.
The search was suspended shortly before 11 p.m. and was due to resume in the morning, police said.
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