A wealthy British businessman who owns the company that makes the two-wheeled Segway has been found dead in a river in northern England after apparently falling off a cliff on one of the vehicles, police said Monday.

The body of 62-year-old Jimi Heselden and a Segway personal transporter were found in the River Wharfe. Heselden was pronounced dead at the scene, West Yorkshire Police said.

A witness had reported seeing a man fall Sunday over a 30-foot drop into the river near the village of Boston Spa, 140 miles north of London.

Police do not believe that anyone else was involved in this accident.

Heselden, who bought control of the Bedford, N.H.-based Segway company in December, made his fortune through his firm Hesco Bastion Ltd., which developed a successful blast wall system that replaced the sand bags once used to protect troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The unique Segway transporter relies on electricity to recharge its batteries and travels at speeds up to 12.5 mph, according to the company’s website. It claims to be 11 times more efficient than the average American car and also can be used indoors because it has no emissions.

Yet the lack of information about the circumstances surrounding Heselden’s death prompted new questions about the Segway’s safety record—concerns that have been raised before.

The company recalled all its U.S. vehicles in 2006 because of a software problem that could cause its wheels to reverse direction, causing riders to fall off.

Segways have been banned by some U.S. cities but also have been embraced by some U.S. police departments as a useful tool in community patrols.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.