Swimmer drowns in Erie Canal

NORTH TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) - Underwater recovery teams jumped into the waters of the Erie Canal late Sunday night, to look for a man who took a jump into the water, but didn't return.

Rescue crews from the cities of North Tonawanda, and Tonawanda began their search for a man's body around 8 p.m. in the Erie Canal along Sweeney Street. Dive teams from the City of North Tonawanda Fire Company, and the City of Tonawanda Police Department were in the water by 9 p.m. After a couple hours of searching, officials found the body of 25-year-old Jeffrey Banks, of Niagara Falls. Just before 10 p.m. an ambulance left the scene and a coroner's truck arrived.

Shortly after the body was found, North Tonawanda resident Glen Deverell said, “There was three guys and two girls and the one asked how deep the water was and a guy in a boat told him around 12 feet and he decided to take his shoes off and jump in the water with his clothes on and he never resurfaced.”

According to officials Banks didn’t know how to swim. North Tonawanda Police say it's not uncommon for someone to get hurt or drown in that part of the river. Detective Thomas Krantz says the area is particularly dangerous because the water is dark and has no visibility.