CAPE MAY, NJ — A Florida man is believed to have drowned off the southern New Jersey coast when a boat he had just bought in New York sank, officials said.

Gregory Arlotta, 62, of Fort Myers, Fla., is missing and presumed dead after the accident early Thursday seven miles off Cape May, State Police Sgt. Steve Jones said.

Arlotta had bought the 63-foot vessel in New York a few days earlier and was transporting it to New Orleans when it sank, officials said.

Coast Guard crews from Atlantic City were able to reach the stricken boat and rescue one man, but Arlotta slipped under the surface along with debris from the boat.

The second man, Steve Hopkins, 42, of Washington, DC, remained hospitalized in critical condition yesterday.