A rescue and recovery has wrapped up in Niagara Falls after a police officer and a man fell into the Niagara Gorge late Tuesday
afternoon.

The Niagara Regional Police officer was pulled out of the gorge with leg injuries, while the suspect he was chasing, has died.

Police say the chase began shortly after 5 o'clock Tuesday afternoon and while the pursuit was taking place on foot, the two fell in.

The officer was loaded in to an ambulance and driven away from the scene, then airlifted to hospital in Hamilton.

The province's Special Investigations Unit has been called in and confirmed that the police officer broke the femur bone in his leg, but is expected to live.

Police say fire, parks police and Niagara regional police were all involved in the rescue, with firefighters using rappelling equipment to reach the men in the gorge.

There's no official word on the identity of the victim but reports from witnesses indicated he could be as young as 16 years old, and the incident could have started with a fight at a nearby youth shelter.