By Minyvonne Burke -
NBC News
A woman was found dead Wednesday afternoon after a car floating in the Niagara River was about to tumble over the falls, New York authorities said.
The woman's identity has not been released, but she is believed to be in her 60s, New York State Park Police Captain Chris Rola told a news conference.
The authorities were alerted about the vehicle shortly before 12 at night.
Rola said
the car was floating in the river towards the edge of Niagara Falls
.
Witnesses told police that they believed someone was inside.
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An image of the place shows the car, with the trunk open, almost completely submerged.
The vehicle was trapped between rocks about 50 meters from the edge of the falls, reported WGRZ, an affiliate of NBC News, Telemundo's sister network.
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"Due to the area where the car was located, our team trained for rapid rescue in the water could not make the recovery," explained Rola.
"We contacted the Coast Guard, their helicopter came and they were able to do it," he added.
The Great Lakes Coast Guard tweeted that
an unresponsive woman was removed
from the driver's seat
and pronounced dead at the scene.
The identity of the woman has not been released, but she is believed to be in her 60s, police said.
The woman was driving the car, Rola said.
Officers believe there was only one person inside the car
who entered the river through an area located between a pedestrian bridge and the vehicular bridge.
The investigation into the incident continues, including determining why the car ended up in the water.
The woman was from the area, Rola said, but declined to say where she lived.