A man who fell into Portland Harbor on Saturday morning later died, police said Sunday.
Police Lt. Gary Hutcheson said the man was alive when he was taken out of the water by emergency crews, but died later at the hospital. The cause of the death was drowning, Hutcheson said. He did not identify the deceased person but said he was a middle-aged white man and a local transient.
The Office of Chief Medical Examiner will conduct a post-mortem examination of the body, according to Hutcheson.
Emergency personnel converged on the Custom House Wharf area for a report of two men in the water in distress about 10 a.m. Saturday.
An officer at the scene Saturday said the man had a medical episode and fell into the water. A second man – a friend of the man who fell – went into the water to try to rescue him, Hutcheson said.
It is unclear what caused the man to fall into the water, but Hutcheson said alcohol is most likely a factor.
“It is a working waterfront. People who are partaking of alcoholic beverages should steer clear,” he said.
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