Fort Wayne — Authorities say a man riding a personal watercraft died after he hit a cable that had been strung across a river near downtown Fort Wayne.

Indiana conservation officers say witnesses saw Matthew Stocksdale, 37, Fort Wayne, knocked from the craft after he struck the cable Sunday afternoon in the Maumee River. He was pronounced dead from blunt force trauma.

Investigators say the cable was apparently being used to secure barges as part of a bridge construction project but was not marked by buoys or other warning devices. The cable was marked before officers left Sunday.

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