POND EDDY, NY — Chirag Patel, a 37-year-old from Bensalem, PA, was swimming in the Delaware River during a rafting trip on Sunday when he submerged beneath the water and did not return to the surface, according to the NYS Police.

Port Jervis Fire and Rescue found Patel and removed him from the river. He was declared him dead at the scene.

Troopers from the Liberty barracks responded to the scene, in the area of 2362 State Route 97, Pond Eddy, NY, at approximately 12:40 p.m. on July 7. The drowning is being investigated by the State Police Liberty Bureau of Criminal Investigation.  It is the third Delaware drowning since  late June.

The Highland and Lumberland fire departments were dispatched to the river in Shohola, PA, as part of an automatic response plan with the Shohola Fire Department. They were sent to look for a missing rafter south of the Barryville bridge.

“The rafter who was not wearing a life jacket fell from the boat and was unaccounted for,” says the Highland Fire Department on its Facebook page.

Other responders included the Orange County Battalion 8 Water Task Force, the National Park Service, the Yulan Fire Department, Shohola EMS, and Highland EMS, with the Huguenot Fire Department standing by.

“This is the second fatality on the river in less than a week,” says the Highland FD posting. “Both victims were not wearing life jackets! Please wear them!”

On June 29, Jeysson Ariel Osorio-Reyes of Jackson, NJ, was swimming in the middle of the river off Milford Beach in Milford, PA, when he disappeared under the water. His body was recovered that evening.

On July 7, Gary Conley was using a flotation tube on the Delaware River near his hometown of Easton, PA, when he disappeared beneath the water. He was taken to the hospital, where he died. Easton is about 40 miles south of the Delaware Water Gap.