A Chinese tourist who survived a Victoria Falls plunge this week can consider himself very lucky. Wang Shun Xue almost lost his life after he slipped while taking pictures of Zambia's magnificent Victoria Falls. According to a Nov. 28 report from News 24, the near-fatal mistake sent 45-year-old Xue into a Victoria Falls plunge. Incredibly, he suffered only minor injuries after falling into the shallow section of the gorge.
As reported by WebProNews, this is not the first instance of a Victoria Falls plunge. WebProNews writes that "there have been numerous injuries and near-death occurrences for tourists visiting Victoria Falls. In 2012, Erin Langworthy, a 22-year-old Australian bungee jumper, was taking a plunge off the Victoria Falls Bridge. She broke free from her cord and ended up in the Zambezi River, which was infested with crocodiles. “It went black straight away and I felt like I had been slapped all over,” she said. Langworthy was stranded in the water with her feet still tied together by the bungee cord, yet only suffered minor injuries."
The following statement was released by police regarding the Victoria Falls plunge:
“The Chinese national did not get to the surface of the falls as he was rescued at the edge of the falls cliff,” Southern Province Police chief Charity Katanga and Livingstone City Council public relations manager Emmanuel Sikanyika stated.
John Zulu, manager of the National Heritage Conservation Commission in Livingstone, confirmed to media sources that Xue plunged into the shallow section of the Victoria Falls and sustained "only minor injuries."
"The depth of the gorge is 25 metres (49 feet) but where he fell from, it's about 15 metres (25 feet) because some places there are slopes," Zulu said, adding: "He looked shocked because of the accident."
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Xue's injuries he received from the Victoria Falls plunge were mainly caused by falling on a rock. After he was treated for minor bruises at a local clinic, Xue and three friends who accompanied him on the trip caught the first plane out of the country.
Xue's Victoria Falls plunge is especially incredible because he plunged into the world's largest sheet of falling water -- and made it out of the ordeal relatively unharmed. While Victoria Falls is neither the highest nor the widest waterfall in the world, it is classified as the largest, based on its width of 5,604 ft and height of 354 ft. Victoria Falls is roughly twice the height of North America's Niagara Falls and well over twice the width of its Horseshoe Falls. It is located in southern Africa on the Zambezi River and in height and width, Victoria Falls is rivaled only by Argentina and Brazil's Iguazu Falls, Wikipedia writes.