UPDATE: A several-hour search for the body of a bridge inspector who was swept away by a Passaic River current after falling in during a heavy afternoon rainstorm was suspended for a second time around 8 o’clock tonight — and was to resume tomorrow morning.
The inspector was at a bridge near President Street when the current knocked him into a brook that feeds the river around 2 p.m., authorities said.
After searching for a couple of hours, commanders pulled several boats from the water amid reports of intensifying storms approaching around 5 p.m., one of the rescuers told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.
They established a command post near Gregory Avenue and resumed the search after the threat subsided a little over an hour later, he said.
The Bergen County Water Search and Recovery Unit went into the river using sonar, with its underwater robot at the ready.
Search crews also looked into storm drains, sewer lines and streams.
Also responding were dive teams from the Wallington and Lyndhurst fire departments; firefighters with boats from Carlstadt, East Rutherford, Garfield, Rutherford; the New Jersey State Police and Passaic police and Moonachie First Aid & Rescue Squad.
Paterson police assisted their Passaic colleagues on their side of the river.
A white helmet and flashlight were fished from the water, although it was unclear whether they belonged to him.
PHOTOS: Courtesy BERGEN COUNTY SHERIFF
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