The boy was fishing with family members when he slipped off the embankment and into the water Monday afternoon.
Authorities say a 9-year-old Bushkill, Pa., boy who was fishing along the Delaware River fell into the water and drowned Monday afternoon in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.
The boy lost his footing on the embankment just downstream from the Bushkill Access and slipped into the current, according to recreation area Superintendent John Donahue. Family members and a passing boater tried unsuccessfully to rescue him, Donahue said in a news release.
Authorities were summoned to the river at 4:32 p.m. and arrived a minute later, according to officials. Divers located the boy's body in nine feet of water just before 6 p.m. Monday, authorities say. The boy was pronounced dead there by the Pike County Coroner, according to a news release.
Officials with the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area urge visitors to use extreme caution when spending time near the river and to wear personal flotation devices at all times.