Practice makes for perfect rescue of man from Niagara gorge

For the past six years, emergency crews from both sides of the border have met at Niagara Helicopters to practice a unique rescue operation to be used in the event a person is trapped in the Niagara gorge.

The dramatic rescue plan had never been put into practice — until Sunday.

The call came in around 4 p.m. that a man had fallen at the Niagara Glen, seriously injuring his leg.

Niagara Falls firefighters and parks police descended the gorge and located the injured man. But he was so badly injured, rescuers realized he couldn’t simply be placed on a backboard and carried out of the gorge.