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A woman died, and her 5-year-old son miraculously survived, when the couple plunged 90 feet from New York’s famous Niagara Falls in what authorities have said does not appear to be an accident.
Out-of-towners were visiting the national park Monday when police received multiple calls around 12:30 p.m. about a woman and child “having fallen into the gorge” near the Cave of the Winds lift, California State Park Police NY. Captain Chris Rola said, according to video shared online by The Buffalo News.
The woman was pronounced dead at the scene, while “saving measures” were taken for the boy, who was rushed to a local hospital with a head injury.
“The investigation is still ongoing at this time,” Rola said, “but we don’t believe it was an accident.”
Authorities monitor an unrelated crime scene in the Niagara River near the edge of American Falls, Wednesday, December 8, 2021, in Niagara Falls, NY (Larry Kensinger/NC News Service via AP)
Until Tuesday, the boy was in critical condition after being operated on. A spokesman for the National Park Service did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for an update.
The woman’s husband was present at the park but was unharmed, Rola added.
Rescuers traversed “300 feet of dangerous icy ground” as they tried to reach the victims, the New York State Park Police said Tuesday.
A view of Niagara Falls on December 27, 2022. (Photo by Fatih Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Police have not released the names of the victims, citing the young age of the child and the active investigation.
Investigators are interviewing several witnesses, including the boy’s father.
