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Man survives plunge over Niagara Falls; 2nd attempt reported Tuesday
A man survived a 180-foot plunge over Niagara Falls on Monday, becoming only the fourth person to do so without any protective devices, according to news reports.
The man, who has not been identified, climbed over a retaining wall above the Canadian Horseshoe Falls before jumping into the Niagara River and being swept over the falls, according to a report from CNN affiliate CTV.
Thought to be around 40 years old, the man sustained injuries including several broken ribs, a collapsed lung and gashes to his head and shoulders, according to a report in the Buffalo News.
He was pulled to safety by emergency crews on the Canadian side of the river after collapsing in waist-deep water, according to a report from CNN affiliate WGRZ in Buffalo.
"When I first looked at him, it was quite apparent that he was in a state not only of shock, hypothermia had probably started to set in," Sgt. Chris Gallagher of the Niagara Falls Parks Police told WGRZ.
"He just happened to come down the river into an eddy, and that enabled him to get out. If he had been in the main current, he wouldn't have survived," Niagara Falls, Ont., Fire Department platoon chief Dan Orescanin told the News.
The man was in stable condition at Hamilton General Hospital in Ontario on Tuesday morning, according to a report from the CBC.
On Tuesday morning, New York State Park Police said they'd received a report on a second person going over the falls, this time the American Falls, the Buffalo News reported.
Lt. Patrick Moriarty said they were interviewing witnesses and believe it was a suicide attempt, the News reported.
The man who survived on Monday is only the fourth person to survive a plunge over the Horseshoe Falls, historian Paul Gromosiak told the News.
The others include a 30-year-old Canadian man in 2009, a Michigan man in 2003 and a 7-year-old boy in 1960, according to the news reports.
"There are odds that you will survive, but they're so minuscule that it's impossible to comprehend," Gromosiak told the News. "Out of the thousands who have come here to commit suicide over the years, we have two who did survive."
Monday's incident had not yet been labeled a suicide attempt, according to the reports.
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Ha ha. Poor Roofie and his teabags.
Every rule has an exception, he just proved darwin has one also. loser!
slowly he turned... step by step.
Hey at least you would get a great ride before you die.
I wonder if he did it with his hands up.
Well, at least hes going through significant pain for his efforts, i can just see him now, whenhe finally gets home, sits in his lazyboy, then it all hit him, hes an even bigger loser than he thought, wow, can life suck any worse?
Funny stuff bob
Better luck next time.
Ya know we all do things we can laugh at only over time, but this is just sad, now and forever, hope he turns it around, i wonder if he gets a favorable bounce at the golf course too?
wow people, I hope that you never experience severe despondance such as this.....what is wrong with you in some fo these posts....KARMA is ruthless thing...................a miracle occurred for this person and God has blessed him with another chance.......the only loser is the heartless person calling him such.......good luck when your time comes, sure many will support you
I have read countless stories of people who jumped off structures and immediately had a change of heart. I wish him well.
Really? Have you really lost count?
This guy is so pitiful, its just sad, i wonder what a good day is like for him, or was this it?
God bless everyone, seriously, i hope this is what it takes to make a change in a positive direction for him, good luck my man, this is not the end for you, but a new life, ask for guidance, im sure if you prayed this was not his answer, change in perspective will do wonders
2 out of thousands. That fraction is so miniscule I cannot comprehend it. It is almost as if someone with a few thousand dollars showed me two pennies. WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?!
Probably another thing we can blame on Bush. Bush screwed up this economy so badly that I can understand why it's driving people to suicide.