On March 11, 2009, a Canadian in his mid-thirties went over the guardrail and waded into the freezing cold Niagara River. He was swept over the Canadian Horseshoe Falls. The force of the current tore his clothes off. He was spotted naked below Niagara Falls, in the dangerous churning river water. When the rescue team came into the gorge and approached where he was in the river, he waved them away. A helicopter was also called to the scene. The current of the river eventually brought him close enough to the Canadian shore for the rescue squad to take hold of him. After approximately 40 minutes naked in the ice water, he was suffering from hypothermia, scrapes and bruises. He was rushed to the hospital where he recovered.