Man trapped in San Diego cliffside crevice freed after hourslong rescue effort

First responders said the location of the rescue was "very treacherous."

ByMeredith Deliso
December 22, 2023, 4:37 PM

A man who slipped on the side of a San Diego cliff and became trapped under broken concrete has been freed following a "treacherous" hourslong rescue.

San Diego Fire-Rescue said it responded to the Sunset Cliffs area around 3:40 p.m. local time Thursday to a report of a person trapped in a hole along the cliffside.

PHOTO: Crews work to rescue a man who became trapped under broken concrete in the San Diego community of Sunset Cliffs.
Crews work to rescue a man who became trapped under broken concrete in the San Diego community of Sunset Cliffs.
KGTV
PHOTO: Crews work to rescue a man who became trapped under broken concrete in the San Diego community of Sunset Cliffs.
Crews work to rescue a man who became trapped under broken concrete in the San Diego community of Sunset Cliffs.
KGTV

The man was uninjured but trapped from the waist down in a crevasse along the cliff, San Diego Fire-Rescue said. The hole was about 18 inches in diameter, "which has caused extreme difficulty in getting him out," rescuers said.

"The location of this rescue is very treacherous for rescuers as well as the patient," San Diego Fire-Rescue said.

Technical rescue team members from San Diego Fire-Rescue and the Chula Vista Fire Department worked to free the man for several hours until the tide began to rise.

The man was provided with electrolytes, hot packs and blankets and an engine company stayed with him throughout the night until the rescue effort could resume Friday morning when the tide receded, authorities said.

PHOTO: In a post made to their X account, the San Diego Fire-Rescue team is seen working to rescue a man who became trapped under broken concrete in the San Diego community of Sunset Cliffs, Dec. 22, 2023.
In a post made to their X account, the San Diego Fire-Rescue team is seen working to rescue a man who became trapped under broken concrete in the San Diego community of Sunset Cliffs, Dec. 22, 2023.
@SDFD/X

Crews were able to free the man from the hole around 11 a.m. Friday, according to footage of the rescue by San Diego ABC affiliate KGTV.

He will be taken to an area hospital for further evaluation, according to KGTV.

PHOTO: Crews rescue a man who had become trapped in a cliffside crevasse in San Diego on Dec. 22, 2023.
Crews rescue a man who had become trapped in a cliffside crevice in San Diego on Dec. 22, 2023.
KGTV

No further details on the man or how long he had been trapped in the crevasse have been released by authorities.

Crews at the scene told KGTV that the man reported being stranded for at least three days before someone heard his calls for help on Thursday.

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