LONDON -- A British YouTuber was rescued from the River Thames on Thursday after jumping off Tower Bridge in what he later said was his "stupidest idea ever."
Shah Faisal Shinwari, whose YouTube channel Carnage has more than 27,000 subscribers, leapt from the bridge following a dare from a viewer. Things quickly escalated, though, and Shinwari found himself swept up in the Thames' currents.
He was rescued by lifeboat staff, and was treated for exhaustion and an infection from the water before being released and returned home, where he made a full recovery.
Posting a video of the stunt to YouTube, Shinwari admitted he regrets making the jump.
"It originally was a dare from one of my subscribers, and I attempted it as I like doing crazy shit," he wrote. "This was later very regretted by me and I realized it was the stupidest idea ever. Thanks for watching!"
Tony Wafer, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution community safety manager, said they were "extremely disappointed this young man chose to risk his life in this way."
"We're glad this young man regrets his actions, but we would strongly discourage anyone from doing anything like this. Jumping into the Thames from a bridge is extremely dangerous. The shock of cold water can make it very difficult to swim and strong currents can rapidly sweep people away," Wafer said.
Shortly after posting the video of the jump to YouTube, Shinwari said he would never try anything like this again.
This was my stupidest video idea to date and it will never happen again, I promise.— Shah Faisal Shinwari (@SFaisalShinwari) July 24, 2015