World's End Cliff Sri Lanka - A 35-year-old Dutch national escaped a close encounter with death and made history after he became the first person to survive a fall from the World's End cliff, which is located in the Horton Plains National Park, Sri Lanka.

Mamitho Lendas later told the press that he was taking some pictures and obviously had his back to the cliff when he had a misstep and fell down the 4,000 ft precipice. But luckily, he landed on a tree about 130 ft from the top of the mountain, Sri Lankan Army spokesman Jayanath Jayaweera revealed.

Rescuers used a rope to reach Lendas and bring him up to safety. It took up to 3 hours for the rescue mission to be complete. Reports indicate that up to 40 soldiers were involved in the operation. After he was brought to safety Lendas, who apparently suffered only minor injuries, was stretchered on the shoulders of soldiers to a vehicle, from where he was transported to a hospital for checkup.

After the incident, Lendas revealed that the time he sat on the tree waiting to be rescued was the longest three and a half hours of his life. He described the experience as "scary and very painful."

Meanwhile, Lendas' wife Linda, has thanked a Canadian man named Kent, who spoke to Lendas while he was stuck on the cliff. In a short video of Lendas recue, a voice, presumably that of Kent is heard yelling to Lendas to keep still as he is being dragged up. "Right now do not move or do anything," he warns.

The World's End cliff is one of the main tourist attraction in the Sri Lankan city of Nuwara Eliya.