BUSHKILL, PA — A 39-year-old man from Lakewood, NJ, drowned near the Bushkill access in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (DWGNRA).

First responders from around the area responded to a call from Pike County Dispatch at 1:45 p.m. on Monday, August 26, about a drowning at the access. Rescue team members were on scene within minutes, said DWGNRA Public Affairs Specialist Kathleen Sandt in a statement.

At 3:07 p.m., crews recovered the victim’s body, found about 20 to 30 feet from the shore in approximately seven feet of water. 

Responding to the scene were National Park Service rangers and dive team members from Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area; Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River; and rescue teams from the Bushkill, Dingmans and Westfall fire departments and Lehman Township EMS.

News reports have identified the victim as Rabbi Baruch Ber Ziemba, and that he died heroically while trying to save one of his seven children.

“R’ Boruch Ber was swimming with his children in the Delaware River when one of his children drifted out and was struggling to stay afloat,” reported the online paper Matzav.com. “R’ Boruch Ber went to rescue the child but was drawn into the river’s strong current.

“After more than 40 minutes, he was extricated from the water, but paramedics were unable to revive him.”

This is the third drowning in the Upper and Middle Delaware River this summer: Jeysson Ariel Osorio-Reyes of Jackson, NJ, while swimming near Milford Beach on June 29; and Chirag Patel, 37, of Bensalem, PA, while swimming near Pond Edyu on July 7.

In another area drowning this summer, Erick Alas, 20, of El Salvador died while swimming in Loch Sheldrake Lake in Loch Sheldrake, NY, on July 28.