PHOTO GALLERY | Recovery Effort
HINSDALE N.H. — Searchers were preparing Wednesday night to conduct a recovery mission for a man in his 20s who fell into the Connecticut River, according to Brattleboro Fire Captain Ron Hubbard.
The man, thought to be in his 20s, was with a friend on the old railroad bridge linking Brattleboro and Hinsdale, N.H., when he fell in, the captain said.
Authorities received a call for help around 8:25 p.m.
The area of the river the man fell in was in New Hampshire territory, but Brattleboro rescuers contributed to the operation because of their proximity, equipment and because they have trained divers, Fire Chief Mike Bucossi said.
Divers, however, after getting into the water, determined the situation was unsafe in which to dive.
"It's murky. It's swift. There's a flow of debris," Hubbard said.
New Hampshire Fish and Game officials were expected to start diving Thursday morning, Hubbard said.
The Brattleboro Fire Department is currently in the "recovery stage," Bucossi said, meaning authorities don't expect that the man survived.
"No one saw him come out of the water," Bucossi said.
The search and rescue team had rafts deployed within five minutes of their arrival and set up a base of operations at the end of Riverside Drive.
Other departments are still checking the man's home and making search efforts on the shore, Hubbard said.
Responders included the Brattleboro Police and Fire departments, Rescue Inc., and the Hinsdale Police and Fire departments from New Hampshire.
Harmony Birch can be reached at 802-254-2311, ext.153.
