Page 27 - Life Ring News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

It's march 19, 2003. rescuers have been trying for more than an hour to save a man from falling nearly 180 feet over the edge of niagara falls to his death. from the air, rescuers are attempting to toss him a life ring, but suddenly, the man slips. and they fear they've lost him for good. >> when he first fell, he grabbed onto the rock. and within a few seconds he slid back probably another two or three feet, and at that point his legs actually went over the brink. >> but against all odds, the man is able to pull himself up onto a rock. >> and then there's just jubilation. he stands up and it'...

But for now, they inch out into the raging waters, hoping to get the man a life ring. onshore, a rescue worker finds a suicide note from the man now fighting fiercely for his life. but carella and moriarty know nothing about the note, and they're able to make contact with the victim. >> we wanted to reassure him, tell him that we're coming to get you, we're here for you. >> he was able to yell loud enough that i can't stand here much longer. i'm cold. and he said he's getting weaker. >> carella and moriarty can't stand there much longer either. >> we could feel our feet being pulled from under...

Back by the currents. they try to get the life ring to him from the air. >> we try to toss this ring out to somewhere he can get ahold of it. i knew our biggest problem was the rotor wash from the wind itself. i was afraid we going to knock him over. >> but they're willing to give it a shot. >> we're probably only a foot or two off the water. i was trying to get our side of the aircraft in close to him so he could throw the gentleman the ring. and as soon as we got that rotor wash next to him, we could see the guy starting to stumble. i was looking right at him. he got a little disoriented. th...

But spray is pelting him in the face. and so blindly he tosses the life ring into the teeth of the swirling wind. >> fortunately i got pretty close to him, and the current took it right across in front of his face, about two foot in front of him. >> now it's do or die for the man who has held on for so long. >> he's got it. >> he actually had to let go of what he was holding onto to get the ring. it was about a foot or two in front of him. he let go, and he grabbed the ring. we did see that his legs went right over the brink. >> on shore, rescuers start pulling the rope, plucking the man from ...

If standing feet from the edge of niagara falls isn't dangerous enough, almost unbelievably the stakes are about to go up even higher. the man slips under that menacing ice shelf, the very thing moriarty feared most. >> upon being dragged underneath the ice floe, the danger level increased 100%. he now is on a rope that is unable to be pulled back because he goes underneath the ice. he's also being dragged by a current that is unbelievable because now it's pressurized. it's formed underneath the ice. he's almost like a water skier in a current being just straight out. >> now it's critical. so ...