Yesterday afternoon, a man jumped into the frigid Niagara River, was swept down the Horseshoe Falls—all 180 feet—and survived. The Buffalo News reports, "Naked and despondent, with a gash on his head, the man was caught in a slow-moving circle of frigid water below the falls when rescuers made it down a steep embankment shortly after 2 p. m. to a point where Firefighter Todd Brunning could enter the water."
A tourist called 911 when the man was spotted climbing over a retaining wall and about to jump into the water. The man apparently did not want to be rescued, so a private helicopter's pilot used the chopper's propellors to push the waves—and him— back to the shore, where Brunning was able to rescue him.
The man, who had been wearing clothes at the top of the falls (it's suspected the force of the water ripped his clothes off), had remained in the water for over 40 minutes and was treated for hypothermia and his head wound. Very few people have survived falls from the area; Niagara Falls Fire Service Chief Lee Smith also told the Buffalo News, "It’s amazing that he survived that long. He was very close to not being able to keep himself afloat anymore.”
