Man Rescued Less Than 1 Mile From Niagara Falls

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (AP) _ A man apparently trying to sneak into the United States was rescued from an ice floe less than a mile upstream from Niagara Falls, authorities said. <br/><br/>Guards from Ontario

Monday, March 26th 2007, 10:38 am

By: News On 6

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (AP) _ A man apparently trying to sneak into the United States was rescued from an ice floe less than a mile upstream from Niagara Falls, authorities said.

Guards from Ontario Power Generation said they heard the man screaming for help at about 4:30 a.m. Saturday near the company's water intakes near Chippawa, Ontario.

``If he hadn't been discovered,'' said Peter Larsen, a control operator at the intakes, ``he would have gone through one of those gates and then very likely could have been swept over the falls.''

Rescuers in boats plucked the shivering man from the ice floe and got him ashore.

Authorities said the unidentified 42-year-old man had an inflatable air mattress with him and was apparently trying to get to the United States. The ice chunk he was on apparently broke loose.

The man was treated for mild hypothermia before being charged by Canadian immigration authorities.