A young adrenaline junkie was left with horrific injuries after attempting a world record death dive off a 140-foot Australian waterfall.
Vali Graham, 21, suffered a fractured spine, sternum, skull, and burst eardrum after he jumped from the top of Minnehaha Falls in the Blue Mountains, a scenic region west of Sydney in New South Wales, news.com.au reported.
Footage captured Graham free-falling from the top of the waterfall before slamming into a waterhole below, knocking himself unconscious when he landed in a pike position.
Death diving is an extreme sport where daredevils leap from significant heights into a body of water. Divers do a controlled belly flop before closing in a tuck position.
The Newcastle native was rushed to the hospital and underwent emergency surgeries, according to local media.
The world record for the tallest dive, just shy of 137-feet, is currently held by Swiss diver Lucien Charlon.
The Australian death diver thanked God on social media for his speedy recovery.
“Update: ‘God gives us the gift of suffering’ after sending this monster 42.5m cliff, I was knocked unconscious,” he said.
Amazingly, after regaining consciousness, Graham was able to pull himself out of the water and walk back to a car where his friends took him to a hospital, according to news.com.au.
“The support was amazing, I’ve had surgery on my back and sternum and was walking 2 days after surgery,” he wrote on social media.
“Back at home now, on my feet and grateful for life, good friends, family, and God.”
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