A 17-year-old was sent to hospital after he plunged 12 metres (40 feet) from rocks at Webster Falls in Dundas on Friday afternoon, according to Hamilton paramedics.
The teen was brought to safety by Hamilton firefighters in a rope-rescue call just after 5 p.m.
Paramedics spokesperson Dave Thompson said the teen suffered critical injuries including multiple bumps and bruises consistent with a fall.
Webster Falls are operated by the Hamilton Conservation Authority and are estimated 22 metres high (72 feet).
Waterfall enforcement was a hot topic in the city’s 2021 budget talks after Coun. Arlene Vanderbeek presented a motion for more “reliable” levels of bylaw and parking enforcement in the area of Tews and Webster Falls.
Hamilton fire Chief Dave Cunliffe told councillors in January his department was involved in 20 rope rescues from April to December in 2020, up nine rescues from 2019.
The majority involved visitors that had strayed from marked paths.
In a one-year pilot project, two full-time bylaw and five part-time parking enforcement officers were hired in the hopes of alleviating trespassing at the falls and illegal parking problems.