“Lucky” man survives Niagara Falls jump — officials

A man has survived a jump over the highest part of the Niagara Falls, one of only a handful of survivors to do so in world history, reported CNN's CTV. 

Niagara Parks Police cited witnesses as saying the man scaled a park fence on Monday morning and proceeded to "deliberately jump" into Canada's Horseshoe Falls, the tallest of the three waterfalls, in a believed suicide attempt, according to The Guardian. 

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"Oh, No. 4," local historian and author Paul Gromosiak said in response to the news Monday, telling the Buffalo News that this is "the fourth person to go over the falls unprotected."

The incident comes just weeks ahead of a planned tightrope walk over the falls by Nik Wallenda, said The Guardian. 

Emergency crews pulled the man, who appeared to be around 40 years old, to safety after he surfaced in the lower Niagara River basin with several chest injuries, said CTV. 

Dan Orescanin of the Niagara Falls fire department told The Buffalo News that the man survived because he was "lucky," having been caught in an eddy instead of the main current headed downstream. 

The man, whose name has not been released, is currently in stable condition, hospital officials told The Guardian.