Man Survives Bungee Jump Accident

(MYFOX NATIONAL) - A 21-year-old British student survived a bungee-jump-gone-wrong after the cord attached to his ankles snapped and he went hurling into a lagoon at 80 miles per hour.

The Daily Mail reports that Rishi Baveja took the 165-foot plunge while on vacation in Phuket, Thailand. He jumped feet first, the cord snapped off and he plunged into the water.

Baveja was fortunate to have landed on his chest instead of his head. "All the doctors were staggered that I lived," he told the Daily Mail. "I'm very lucky. If I had landed head first I would be brain damaged or dead."

But he did suffer serious injuries -- a ruptured spleen, torn liver, collapsed lungs and massive bruising. He spent a month recovering in a Bangkok hospital after having his spleen removed.

On Tuesday Beveja told the Today show that the bungee jump company claimed a 100 percent safety record. He said the company at the time told him to just "put your arms out and jump," but now the company said he was supposed to go head first, not feet first.

"I've got friends that bungee jump all the time,” Baveja said. "They say you should be able to go off that platform any way you want and the thing shouldn't come off you."

Despite his harrowing ordeal, Baveja said he has no intentions of suing the company. "The recovery was crazy, but again, so happy and so lucky to just get through it," he said. "I've got a brand new appreciation for life, and I think when these things happen, you appreciate the little things a lot more."

Baveja also has no intention of swearing off daredevil activities -- he said he plans to try bungee jumping again and eventually skydive.

Watch the video of Baveja's jump. (Viewer discretion advised; some strong language.)