Attempted suicide at Niagra Falls - Man plummets 188-feet over the falls but survives!

Despondent man jumps into the Niagra river and is consequently swept violently over the falls. Lucid when reached by rescuers the 40-year-old man mentioned when questioned that he jumped in on his own accord.

The chaos of the river and the resulting fall dropped the man within a spontaneously created eddy which allowed the individual to avoid Niagra's vicious current.  Thankfully for both he and his family he is going to survive.

What I found oddly perplexing is not that he forewent the usual "safety device" known in Canada as a "barrel" but rather he wore a Hawaiian-print swimsuit. Who plans a suicide like that and since when is a barrel considered a safety device to travel through a watery abyss?

I kid you not. From the Niagra Falls Review:

"... A police report states the man climbed over the retaining wall near the brink of the falls and deliberately jumped into the water. He was seen going over the falls, then spotted by witnesses surfacing in the lower river near the observation deck at the Journey Behind the Falls.

It’s only the fourth time a person is known to have survived a plunge over the falls, without a protective device like a barrel.

Gallagher described Monday’s survivor as being middle-aged, but did not release his name, his hometown or any indication why he went into the water. Police typically do not release the names of people who have attempted suicide. ..."

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