NEWBURYPORT, Mass. —

A recovery mission was declared Wednesday for a man seen clinging to the side of a boat in the Merrimack River in Newburyport, Massachusetts, officials said.

The man was part of a bridge safety project, working on the Chain Bridge when he slipped into the water early Wednesday morning. According to witnesses, the man was seen clinging to the side of a small skiff.

"The man was on the shore, initially, the boat, skiff started to drift into the water and he attempted to regain possession of that skiff and was at some point pulled into the water, was hanging on to the side of the skiff for some period of time and eventually lost hold of the skiff and went underwater," Newburyport police City Marshal Matt Simons said.

The boat was later found drifting in the river, off

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