New York man drowns after falling off boat in Englewood Cliffs

A 42-year-old man from New York, who police say is a Nigerian national, died Saturday evening after he fell off a boat and into the Hudson River near an Englewood Cliffs marina, a New Jersey State Police spokesman said.

Olawale Ismaila Olaniyan, of Roosevelt, New York, fell overboard and drowned shortly before 9 p.m. while he was trying to dock a boat near the Englewood Boat Basin, said Trooper Charles Marchan. The independently operated, public marina is near the Englewood Picnic Area in Palisades Interstate Park off Henry Hudson Drive.

Palisades Interstate Parkway Police Lt. Raymond Walter said witnesses saw the man, whom he identified as being from Nigeria, quickly go under the water and several people attempted to save him, but they were unsuccessful.

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Divers from the New York City Police Department's harbor patrol recovered the man's body about an hour later. He was pronounced dead by the Bergen County medical examiner.

The New Jersey State Police are leading the investigation, which remains active, Marchan said.

Lori Comstock can be reached on Twitter: @LoriComstockNJH, on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/LoriComstockNJH or by phone: 973-383-1194.

This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: Englewood Cliffs NJ drowning: NY man falls overboard into Hudson River