Man survives plunge over Niagara Falls waterfall

10th July 2019


The man fell nearly 200 feet, but survived

Niagara Falls Park Police say a man was "swept over" a waterfall, but survived the drop of roughly 188ft (57 metres) into the raging river below.

The man "was observed to climb over retaining wall" around 04:00 (09:00 GMT) on Tuesday before falling over the cliff, police said on Twitter.

After searching beneath the falls, police found the man "sitting on rocks" with non-life threatening injuries.

The man, who police have not identified, was taken to hospital.

The man was near the brink of Horseshoe Falls - the largest of the three falls that make up Niagara Falls, officials say.

He was found on the side of the river near the Journey Behind the Falls observation platform, according to Buffalo News.

Mayor Jim Diodati of Niagara Falls, Ontario, told the newspaper that he believes "all-time high [water] levels" may have contributed to saving the man's life.

"When Lake Erie is higher and flowing more robustly to Lake Ontario, there is a better chance of missing the massive boulders under the Horseshoe Falls," Mr Diodati said.

"The only way you would ever have a chance to survive that kind of a fall was to overshoot the large rocks below," he continued.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-48931414