corey Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 Hoping for a speedy recovery for whoever it was. http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/2015/04/22/fisherman-rescued-from-niagara-river-gorge A fisherman had to be rescued from the Niagara River Gorge after he slipped into the water and was injured on Wednesday. Niagara Helicopters and members of the Niagara Parks Police High Angle River Team were called in to help in the rescue shortly after noon near the Whirlpool in Niagara Falls. As a precaution, an ORNGE Air Ambulance landed near the Niagara Glen, but was not required for transport. NPP Insp. Paul Forcier said two men, who are not from Niagara, were fishing when they became stranded on a rock. One man slipped and injured himself. The men were unable to get back to shore safely on their own. Jack Cashman, a visitor from Vermont who was in the Glen with his family, witnessed the incident. "He was fishing off a flat rock with a friend, standing near the edge, and a swell of water came over the top of the rock and it looked like he slipped into the water. He fell and hit his head," said Cashman. "His buddy grabbed him and was able to drag him out, but we could see him convulsing." Cashman and his son-in-law were able to call down to the men and asked if they needed medical help. The one man said his friend was unconscious from hitting his head and that might have caused him to go into a seizure. The son-in-law attempted to make his way down to assist the two men, but there was too much water around the rock so he was not able to reach them. Cashman called his daughter on her cell phone because she had already gone ahead and was nearing the top of the Glen. He explained the situation and she called 911. When the rescue personnel arrived, Cashman accompanied them down the gorge to where the men were located. "A helicopter was brought in and they were able to lift both men off the rock," said Cashman. Police said the two men were lifted to street level where the injured man was examined by paramedics and was found to have minor injuries. He was released at the scene. Forcier said the two men were fishing during the morning when the traditional rising water levels surprised them, stranding them on the rock. "If you stick to the marked trails you won't run into any difficulties," said Forcier. "Clearly, these gentlemen were off the marked trails. I know their intention was fishing, but they put themselves in a precarious situation that became more precarious." Fishermen are being advised to stay off the rocks when fishing in the Whirlpool area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cplummer Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 Read that today..that water is very unpredictable.. Carefull out there guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
titanium77 Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 Wow. Impressive that the injured guys friend was able to pull him up on the rock. And very lucky that the visitors from Vermont were close by and obviously very willing to help. I haven't spent much time exploring the pool. But from what I've seen, it's one place that you could get in a lot of trouble very fast. I'm glad it turned out the way it did. This could have been a very tragic situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrisb Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 The story as I saw on the CHCH news was that they got caught on a rock when the water levels rose. They weren't paying attention to morning water level changes. They both walked away without being taken to hospital. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveC Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 Im sure most everyone here knows that rock...i witnessed it happen to an Asian gentleman last year. People walk out to it and start fishing with no thought of the water coming in behind...and when it does the current is swift. Glad this was not another fatality. That water can rise 10' in no time. There will come a day when its posted no tresspass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 Im sure most everyone here knows that rock...i witnessed it happen to an Asian gentleman last year. People walk out to it and start fishing with no thought of the water coming in behind...and when it does the current is swift. Glad this was not another fatality. That water can rise 10' in no time. There will come a day when its posted no tresspass. Quite frankly , I'm surprised there hasn't been more drownings there . Some of those big rocks on the water's edge are very slippery and the current would take you for a fast ride . People need to be warned (with signs) that the water level rises quickly . An Ontario man was washed out to sea at Peggy's Cove yesterday ....they haven't found him yet .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lunker D Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 If you cant pay attention to your surroundings then that's your problem who's paying for this rescue?? the good old tax payers of Ontario I guess . I have seen so many dumb moves down there, I just sit back and watch in awe that these people do know how close they are from death . Darwin Award anyone !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigugli Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 . People need to be warned (with signs) that the water level rises quickly . An Ontario man was washed out to sea at Peggy's Cove yesterday ....they haven't found him yet .... Signs don't help. At Peggy's there are signs and warnings all over the place. Yet, every year someone gets washed off the rocks. Some get rescued. Some get dashed back on the rocks with the next set of rollers. Some get killed Signs won't help in the pool either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveC Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 I agree they should at least have a sign posted at the stairs to the pool as well as the stairs to the glen. I tore a strip off my wife her first visit there...when i lost sight of her only to see her way over to the right of the heli pad. Told her you fall in there your good as gone. Also told her i would never take her there again if she decides wandering around is priority. That 22yr old exchange student drowned not long ago. Definately need signs, it could at least save a life if your able to read. I can see access shut down if this continues anymore. Ps...i would think there could be liability for not posting the dangers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdnvizsla Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 Post all the signs you want, people have to open their eyes and read them. We all grew up in a generation where they didnt label coffee as HO,T and we survived Shouldn't have to spoon feed people . Sadly common sense is not that common. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captnn Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 I've seen no littering signs. Do they stop people from littering? Common sense should prevail, even though it doesn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yakfish Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 People are calling for signs today, tomorrow the area will be closed to fishing altogether. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landry Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 I once told a guy he should get off that rock cause the water was coming up soon. He scoffed. Ten minutesater he tried to make a jump for it and slipped on takeoff - fell 4' into the rocks in his shin. I swear I heard his bone break. It was awful. Him and his friend hooped and shuffled all the way to the top with him yelling in pain with each hop. It was broken for sure. It was painful to watch. Poor guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snags Posted April 24, 2015 Report Share Posted April 24, 2015 Signs will not make a difference, even from a legality perspective, just need the right lawyer (most waivers have no meaning from a legal perspective, be it for joining an online community like this or the waiver on the back of a ticket for a concert or theme park ticket when you take it to extreme circumstances or someone who can get a lawyer involved). Signs go up all over and some are removed because people think "it isnt there to read, I can't get in trouble" I know of one former Niagara business which was sued because someone climbed a fence on the business' property and hurt themselves on the fence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted April 24, 2015 Report Share Posted April 24, 2015 People are calling for signs today, tomorrow the area will be closed to fishing altogether. That's something to think about these days as I have seen many of my local fishing spots shut down . At Port Dal. there's a big red sign saying "Dangerous Waters ,Keep Out " and also at places along the 12 Mile Creek . They could do the same thing ay the whirlpool ......I have also fished at the Maid at the Falls years ago ....can't fish there now . The River is a tourist attraction which brings in lots of moola ....can't see them shutting it down , unless too many accidents happen .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmate Posted April 24, 2015 Report Share Posted April 24, 2015 "Fishermen are being advised to stay off the rocks when fishing in the Whirlpool area."I'll try to do this down at the river lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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