Tourists accidentally recorded man’s final moments as he attempted to jet ski across Niagara Falls
Tourists accidentally caught the final moments of a man's life before he tragically died at Niagara Falls in 1995.
The man passed away after attempting a stunt at the North American tourist attraction that borders Canada and the US.
Named Robert Overacker, he was 39 years old at the time and hailed from Camarillo, California.
The daredevil had hatched a plan to ski off the falls in a stunt to raise awareness for the homeless in front of the thousands of tourists, using a parachute to safely land him in the river below.
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The date was set for 1 October, and on the day, Overacker entered the Niagara River near the Canadian Niagara Power Plant and began to ski toward the Horseshoe Falls on a single jet ski.
He got closer to the Falls, attempting to discharge his rocket-propelled parachute on his back after letting go of the ski and attempting the 51-metre drop.
Unfortunately, it didn't discharge as several terrified onlookers, including his friend and brother, witnessed the horror show.
Some of the tourists filmed the stunt, though footage doesn't show the aftermath of the leap.
It had initially seemed like he survived the stunt, but it was later suspected that the rapids were flailing the corpse around, making it look like a man swimming.
Overacker's body was retrieved from the water by Maid of the Mist staff, and he was pronounced dead at Niagara General Hospital, leaving behind his wife.
He had become the 15th daredevil since 1901 to go over Niagara Falls on purpose in or on a device.
Since this incident, there have been six incidents of people going over the Falls, intentional or not, resulting in two deaths.
One other notable daredevil following Robert Overacker was Kirk Jones, who intentionally went over the Falls twice.
The first incident was in 2003, when he became the first person to survive the drop with no aid, swimming from 91m before making his way over the Falls.
He had been drinking with friends before the incident, and was later fined CA $2,300 and banned from Canada for life, though he claimed it was a suicide attempt.
In April 2017, he went again in an inflatable ball, which was seen spinning wildly in the American Falls, with the ball later being recovered by Maid of the Mist, and his body being found near Lake Ontario in Canada, two months later.
Joshua Nair