Police are now investigating the death of a man whose rotting body was found floating in the East River early Thursday morning.
Members of the U.S. Coast Guard came across the floating, “highly decomposed” corpse in the area of East 34th Street and the FDR Drive at about 7 a.m. Thursday, police said.
Upon retrieving the body, authorities said, the personnel brought it to the nearby 34th Street Ferry Terminal. Responding EMS units picked up the body for transport to the Medical Examiner’s office.
Police do not yet know the man’s age or identity.
At this point in the investigation, police sources said, it’s not clear how the man died. The amount of decomposition made it impossible to immediately determine if there were any signs of physical injury.
The Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
