Japanese student presumed dead after fall into Niagara Falls.

• Claudia wrote on 2011-08-18 01:13
  Source.
  
  

  A 19-year-old Japanese student is presumed dead after she lost her balance Sunday and fell into the churning waters of Niagara Falls, police said Tuesday.
  
  The student, whose name was being withheld pending notification of her family, was straddling the railing with an umbrella in her hand and fell above the brink of the Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side of Niagara, according to a news release from the Niagara Parks Police.
  
  "This is the first accident of its kind I can recall in my 35 years of policing," Niagara Parks Police Chief Doug Kane said Tuesday.
  
  A search turned up no sign of the student, but on Monday searchers in a helicopter from the Erie County, New York, sheriff's department spotted the body of a male in the falls' turbulent whirlpool, police said.
  
  The body was recovered by the Niagara Parks Police Service with the assistance of the Whirlpool Jet Boat Company and does not appear to be related to any previously reported incidents, according to the news release from the parks police.
  
  Kane said Tuesday that the male body had not been identified.
  After the student disappeared on Sunday, members of the parks police, Niagara Regional Police, Niagara Falls Fire Department, New York State Parks Police and the Erie County sheriff's helicopter unit began to look for the woman.
  
  The student's fall was caught on surveillance video but police have not released the tape. "It appears from the review of surveillance video that this incident was a tragic accident," the parks police said in their news release.
  
  "It is now a recovery issue," Kane said Tuesday. "She is officially listed as a missing person until an actual body is confirmed."
  
  Parks police were working with the Japanese consulate general to notify the victim's family, the news release said.
  
  "People are reminded to observe the signs along the retaining wall," Kane said. "We have to strike a balance of allowing people the opportunity to view the falls while still providing adequate levels of safety and security."

  
  
  Honestly, what creeps me out the most is they were looking for the body of a female student and they found a male's body in a whirlpool...
  
  /doesn't care if anybody else cares
• Strawberry wrote on 2011-08-18 01:17
  Maybe the male one was one of a while ago, or coincidental.
  
  Japanese students usually have higher suicide rates than other countries due to their family hardships and high expectations. A lot actually commit suicide if they fail a test etc...
  
  Makes me wonder if she really did lose her balance and fall there.
• Piero wrote on 2011-08-18 01:34
  Wouldn't you die on impact..?
• Claudia wrote on 2011-08-18 01:39

  Quote from Piero;556165:

  Wouldn't you die on impact..?

  
  
  I would imagine, yeah.
  It looks like quite a fall.
• Yoorah wrote on 2011-08-18 02:07
  Naw, you can survive that dive. The issue is what happens after. The currents down there are such that they can suck you in and trap you underwater. That male body was probably there for a while. x_x
  
  And I don't think it's suicide. She was there with her friend, who was trying to take a photo of her as the girl was posing on top of the security barrier. Yeah.. she climbed it. >_> She slipped as she was coming down and... :(
• Episkey wrote on 2011-08-18 05:10
  I heard about the girl who fell down, such an unfortunate accident.
  
  I could only imagine how traumatic it would have been for the girl's friend.
  If something like that happened to me, I would be flipping out.
  
  But they found a guy's body!?! :!!:
• Kingofrunes wrote on 2011-08-18 13:34
  Ya, I'm wondering about the guys body too. Niagra falls sounds like such a dangerous place :/
  
  Poor girl. I hope they find her and can bring peace to her family.
• Chiyuri wrote on 2011-08-18 15:25
  maybe it was a trap?
• Claudia wrote on 2011-08-18 16:03

  Quote from Episkey;556426:

  I heard about the girl who fell down, such an unfortunate accident.
  
  I could only imagine how traumatic it would have been for the girl's friend.
  If something like that happened to me, I would be flipping out.
  
  But they found a guy's body!?! :!!:

  
  
  Ja, that's the sad part.
  
  It makes you wonder what other bodies are down there, what other people have jumped or fallen in that nobody knows about/never found...
• Splash wrote on 2011-08-18 16:11
  Yeah, this is really unfortunate. I read it in the news a few days ago. Niagara Falls isn't necessarily a dangerous place to be--the view is magnificent. You just have to obey the safety measures they put in place. In this case, the safety fences.
  
  Like the police said, this was really unfortunate but she shouldn't have climbed over the fence in the first place. :/
• Claudia wrote on 2011-08-18 16:29
  Exactly, I saw the part that she was "straddling the guard rail" and I facepalmed a little inside. ;;
• pinkkea wrote on 2011-08-24 03:26
  It's...sad. :<
• Bride wrote on 2011-08-24 03:36
  http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2011/08/19/niagara-falls-body-identified.html
• Cynic wrote on 2011-08-24 03:49
  While I do feel bad for her, it's just another reason why people really need to obey safety measures to the T.
• Joker wrote on 2011-08-24 04:09
  scary that im literally an hr away or less from niagara falls >.>