Man survives unprotected plunge over Niagara Falls

A man has survived the drop over Niagara Falls without any protective gear.

The Niagara Parks Police reported that a man “in crisis” was seen climbing over over a retaining wall into the river at around 4 a.m. on Tuesday. He was swept over the 188-foot-high Horseshoe Falls and later found sitting on rocks in the lower portion of the river.

The man was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

@NiagParksPolice 0400 responded to male in crisis brink of Horseshoe Falls. On arrival male was observed to climb over retaining wall and swept over falls. Male was found sitting on rocks after search of lower river w/non life threatening injuries. Trans. to hosp. further care

— Niagara Parks Police (@NiagParksPolice) July 9, 2019

An estimated 25 people a year end their lives by going over the falls, reports The Buffalo News. This man is the fifth person since 1960 to survive the plunge without being inside a barrel or ball.

“The high water levels may have tossed him over the rocks at the bottom of the falls,” Michael Clarkson told The Buffalo News. Clarkson is the author of “The River of Lost Souls: What We Might Learn From Niagara Falls Suicides.”

Mayor Jim Diodati of Niagara Falls, Ont., told The Buffalo News he also believes record high water levels in Lake Erie and Lake Ontario helped save the man.

“I know firsthand the lake levels are at all-time high levels. 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,” Diodati told the newspaper. “The only way you would ever have a chance to survive that kind of a fall was to overshoot the large rocks below.”

Police did not release the man’s identity because of privacy laws.

Read more of the story at The Buffalo News.