Watson
Ninja delivery girl
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Man who survived Niagara Falls jump in suicide bid is recovering
BY Bill Hutchinson
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Friday, March 13th 2009, 5:00 AM
DiBattista/AP/The Niagara Falls Review
He miraculously survived a 180-foot plunge down Niagara Falls, stunning rescuers with his failed suicide bid.
A 30-year-old Canadian man suffered a head injury and hypothermia after he was swept over the iconic waterfalls Wednesday.
He was upgraded from critical to stable Thursday at Hamilton General Hospital in Hamilton, Ontario. Officials were shielding his identity at the wishes of his family.
Niagara Parks Police Chief Doug Kane said the incident was being treated as a suicide attempt, but he refused to elaborate.
The man, who is from western Ontario, is only the third person known to have survived the tumble without a barrel or other protective device.
Witnesses said he climbed a fence, jumped into the icy Niagara River and was washed over Horseshoe Falls. Stunned tourists said the man went in with his clothes on but popped up naked - apparently the force of the water ripped off his clothes.
He fought off initial attempts to rescue him and spent more than 40 minutes in the swirling waters at the foot of the falls, said Niagara Falls Fire Services Chief Lee Smith.
"It's amazing that he survived that long," Smith said. "He was very close to not being able to keep himself afloat anymore."
A tourist helicopter hovered over the man and used its propeller to blow him close enough to shore so a diver could fish him out, officials said.
Wow. You'd think that would be a pretty surefire way to do the deed wouldn't you?