A pair of NYPD divers recovered the body of a man who was discovered floating in a murky section of the East River in University Heights on Monday, Nov. 23.

The sad discovery was made at 11:20 a.m. According to NYPD spokesman Sergeant Edward Riley, “Police responded to a 911 call for a human body floating in the water” of the East River at 320 West Fordham Road at Exterior Street, a few hundred yards north of the University Heights Bridge.

Riley stated that officers from the 52nd precinct, “discovered an unconscious and unresponsive male, approximately 40 to 50 years in age, fully clothed, floating in the waterway at the location.”

Police, fire and paramedics raced to the scene believing the victim may have been a jumper from the bridge. Sadly, rescue personnel would soon be packing up their gear to leave as the incident was quickly determined to be a recovery operation rather than a rescue mission.

A pair of FDNY marine units joined an NYPD marine unit on the Bronx side of the East River, and fire officers used binoculars to keep their eyes on the victim as the two NYPD divers prepared to enter the water.

The divers, who were from the NYPD’s Emergency Services Unit (ESU), later retrieved the body of a man in three-feet of water. They placed the victim on a flotation device and pulled him to shore, both struggling in knee-deep mud along the shoreline.

Riley said, “City emergency response units were called to the scene and the body was recovered from the water to a nearby pier. EMS pronounced the victim deceased at the scene. No visible trauma, no criminality is suspected at this time.”

He added that the identity of the victim was pending family notification.