Niagara Falls Death: Woman Swept Over Falls, Presumed Drowned

Authorities presume that a female student drowned after being swept over Niagara Falls.

The Associated Press reports that according to Niagara Parks Police in Ontario, "two female students in their 20s from the Toronto area were visiting the falls around Sunday night when one of them climbed onto a railing near the river's edge and sat on a block pillar, with her legs straddling the railing."

According to the Los Angeles Times, she was enjoying the view from Table Rock when she was swept over Horseshoe Falls.

Police report that the woman stood up, lost her footing, and fell from the railing, which was located along the Canadian side of the Niagara River. The river is estimated to be 80 feet upstream from the edge of the falls.

The Montreal Gazette reports that the strong current is what carried the woman to the falls. After Niagara Parks police examined surveillance video, they say it appears that no one else was involved in this tragic accident.

UPDATE 5:50pm: The Associated Press reports that the woman was a 19-year-old Japanese woman studying in Canada. The Niagara Parks Police and the Japanese consulate general are working to notify the victim's family before releasing a name.

Police dive teams continued on Monday to search the Niagara River for the woman's body, according to CBC.

In July, a boat captain saved a woman who was caught in a whirlpool at Whirlpool State Park in Niagara Falls.

Earlier this month, three members of a church group were swept into a waterfall in Yosemite National Park, and there have been separate incidents of hikers falling to their deaths in that park as well.

According to the Associated Press report on the Yosemite deaths, visitors don't realize the additional dangers that come with record snowfall and high temperatures melting this snow.

Record snowfalls and other extreme weather conditions have been seen across the world this year. In June, the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change announced that they would examine the link between climate change and extreme weather events.

Comments

[Blackstonia]

11:09 AM on 08/17/2011

Apparently she was lacking a sense of gravity.

[chefmike]

05:13 AM on 08/17/2011

NIAGARA FALLS... slowly I turn, step by step, inch by inch...dameyo...!

[evilchihuahua]

01:02 PM on 08/18/2011

Where are we?

We're in Goslow.

Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.

[Inannawhimsey]

06:25 PM on 08/16/2011

Another thwarted attempt at defeating the Cult of Father Dagon & Mother Hydra.

[annarkey]

06:11 PM on 08/16/2011

While visiting Yellowstone, we noticed a poster hung in the washrooms warning about the bison. It stated that on average, 12 visitors die because they believe that the big shaggy creature is gentle. If people would notice, the bison shred the bark off trees that can be seen from the roadway. A Frenchman visiting the park, decided that he wanted his photo with the bison, but the animal was busy grazing. The man pulled on the animal's horn trying to make it look at the camera; the bison's horn split him down the middle. He was taken to a hospital and died. It is easy to forget that the bison, or elk, or bear, or moose are wild and untamed.

[firebirdam7]

05:30 PM on 08/16/2011

maybe she couldnt read the signs

[jcreviston]

05:02 PM on 08/16/2011

My 8 year old daughter visited the falls this year on vacation with her Grandparents, I can't say I didn't worry she would do something like this... I feel so bad for the family of this young women.

[healthcarenow]

05:01 PM on 08/16/2011

When will people get that these natural wonders are NOT DISNEYLAND.

[kevmi16]

04:05 PM on 08/16/2011

"Niagara Falls Death: Woman Swept Over Falls, Presumed Drowned" yea drowned after that fall? I don't think so!

[fds]

06:31 PM on 08/16/2011

I agree. The only way she might have drowned is if her lungs were even with her body after the impact. The trauma to her body probably did her in.

Fail presumption by fail authorities.

[rockysparks]

03:23 PM on 08/16/2011

Two thoughts:

My first thought is about people out for a good time and just wanting to have some fun and then tragedy steps in. No one deserves to experience something like this, least of all die.

My second thought is a bad one --- "Hey! Get a picture of me doing this!" How many times has this been someone's last words ...

[healthcarenow]

05:02 PM on 08/16/2011

evolution of the species:weed out the weak and stupid

[rockysparks]

09:27 PM on 08/16/2011

We're both being unkind about a situation that is just plain sad. Mea culpa, on my part.

[Chris Eng]

12:23 PM on 08/16/2011

Stupid is as stupid does. Why anybody would spend even a second feeling bad for people like this is beyond me.

[mykeru]

02:57 PM on 08/16/2011

Well, those of us who aren't sociopaths do feel a twinge of empathy, even if the person did something that could be considered stupid even for a 19 year old.

[Chris Eng]

11:43 PM on 08/16/2011

Alright, so we can agree that you'll speak for the non-sociopaths and I'll speak for the sociopaths. Awesome. I'm OK with that.

[KateInMT]

07:14 PM on 08/16/2011

Simply because they are living, sentient creatures, that's why.

[bryan broome]

07:44 AM on 08/16/2011

What happend to common sense?

[Blackstonia]

11:16 AM on 08/17/2011

"Common Sense" That should be a show on MTV, something that parents used to teach children before they handed their children over to television. Just consider all of those young men who drunkenly wander out of bars and somehow end up drowning in rivers. Stupid.

[bryan broome]

11:50 AM on 08/17/2011

What a waste.

[madisonhack]

07:20 AM on 08/16/2011

Drowning? "The fall will probably kill ya." - Paul Newman, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

[92102]

03:13 AM on 08/16/2011

While this girl's death is tragic and her family is in mourning, it should be a reminder that warning signs are there for a purpose.

This story reminds me of last year's Tsunami warning along the west coast where a few young men were killed by high surf because instead of leaving low lying areas, they went to the beach. A few years ago while visiting Yellowstone, we watched several people risking their lives ignoring warning signs at "old faithful" to pose for pictures in between eruptions.

How many fools have uttered "watch this" as their last words?

[emncaity]

04:02 AM on 08/16/2011

Seen it at jetties and retaining walls, too--people getting swept away or knocked over against rocks when a good-sized, but not especially rare, wave hits--sometimes while photos are being taken, etc. You can go to the south side of Morro Rock just about any nice-weather day, for instance, and see people taking chances out on the rocks, with a big sign right there telling you how many people have been killed there by doing more or less the same thing.

We try to teach our kids that life isn't a Disney movie or a cartoon, and you really do need to develop the ability to watch out for yourself and not assume everything will work out for the best no matter how careless you are.

[Blackstonia]

11:18 AM on 08/17/2011

Some people behave like moths to a flame. Surprise! Your'e dead!

[justan olnamvet]

08:10 AM on 08/16/2011

How many first say,"Here,hold my beer"?

[SNAAPER SNAP]

02:10 AM on 08/16/2011

These people swim right on the edge of the falls

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1inueBSwko&feature=related

[SNAAPER SNAP]

02:08 AM on 08/16/2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=386a4-Ch7Nw&feature=related

This dude just walks around on the edge for the falls like its nothing.