Post date: May 22, 2012 11:31:1 AM
A man who plunged over Niagara's Horseshoe Falls survives the 53-metre fall but suffers serious injuries.
CANADA-NIAGARA SURVIVOR - A man has survived a 53 metre (174 feet) plunge over Niagara's Horseshoe Falls in Canada but is being treated for life-threatening injuries.
The man, who has not been named by Canadian authorities, is only the third person known to have survived the fall over the massive waterfall without safety devices. Niagara Parks Police said witnesses reported seeing the man climb over a retaining wall about seven metres above the brink of the falls and deliberately jump into the fast-running waters.
Officers said he surfaced a few seconds later in the lower Niagara River Basin below near an observation platform.
He was found along the rock shoreline and rescued in an operation that lasted about 30 minutes.
The man was air-lifted to hospital in Hamilton, Ontario, for treatment.
Police are investigating how and why he went over the Falls.