A lady from Illinois died, but her kid survived after they leapt from a 90-foot precipice into the freezing Niagara Falls canyon walls.
The mom, who has not been identified, is believed to have jumped after going over a railing on Goat Island in Niagara State Park at around 12.30 p.m. on February 12.
The 5-year-old son was rescued and sent with a head injury to a children’s hospital in Buffalo, while the mom perished and her corpse was flown off the bank. The youngster had surgery, and his situation remained serious the next day.
Images purport to show the child conscious while being placed into an ambulance in the immediate aftermath of the accident.
He was transported to the vehicle for stabilization and soon afterwards placed aboard a helicopter for emergency transport.
The mother, her husband, and their child were visiting from Illinois when they fell. The police said that they were conducting interviews with the spouse and other witnesses.
The investigation is continuing, but they do not think it was an accident, said New York State Parks Police Captain Chris Rola. On Thursday, a state police official said that the event is being investigated as a suicide attempt.
Two individuals fell into the gorge near the Cave of the Winds elevator, enabling rescuers to quickly descend. The firefighters of Niagara Falls were able to descend the bottom of the canyon and ascend the ice to reach the mom and boy.
They were able to transfer the youngster to the elevator and up to a parking lot on the island, from whence he was evacuated by helicopter to Oishii Children’s Hospital.
Dramatic images showed a child being stretchered aboard an awaiting helicopter.
The lady was declared dead at the spot, and her corpse was evacuated from the gorge.
Rola remarked that Niagara Falls is a difficult area to undertake rescues during a Monday afternoon news conference. The youngster was sufficiently stable for them to take him out and up the elevator to an awaiting ambulance.
He said, sadly, the female did not make it, and she was discovered by the New York State Police Aviation team and is being transported to the Niagara County Corner.
On Tuesday, authorities said that in order to reach the victims, rescuers traveled nearly 300 feet of treacherous snowy terrain.
Rola said that even though it’s a beautiful day today, it’s quite icy down there, so it’s extremely difficult terrain that their men and women were able to traverse in order to offer them life-saving treatment and do whatever they could.
James O’Callaghan, a New York State Trooper, told on Thursday that they are not releasing any identities because of the likelihood that this was a suicide.
He could not explain why the Illinois family was visiting. A hospital spokeswoman said that they were unable to discuss the boy’s care beyond his condition.
