A man who fell into a small crevice on a beach in California and was stuck there for days was rescued following a massive rescue operation.
The incident started last week when a guy was strolling down the beach in San Diego when he slipped and fell beneath shattered concrete pieces on the edge of Sunset Cliff, according to social media posts by San Diego fire authorities. Teens hanging out heard what seemed like a cry for assistance. Upon investigating, they found a guy trapped within the rocks.
A local reporter spoke to Chris Correa, a teen from La Mesa, who said his friend Justin went headfirst into the hole. Justin attempted to grab the man’s hand while his friends held his legs to prevent him from falling in.
The teenagers remained with the man until rescue workers came and called 911. The man’s legs were entirely trapped, as the firemen quickly discovered. The man said he was trapped for two days.
San Diego Fire-Rescue and Chula Vista Fire Department technical rescuers spent hours trying to extricate the man before the tide came in.
Rescue efforts could continue the following day when the tide went out after the man was given electrolytes, heat packs, and blankets.
A technical rescue team from the San Diego Fire Department, firefighters from Chula Vista, and cave rescue experts from the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department started drilling and excavating around the man’s legs on Friday morning.
The San Diego Fire Department reported that he was trapped from the waist down. The victim felt relief when the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s teams started breaking the boulders on Friday morning, allowing rescuers to break them by hand. He spoke of how the pebbles were removed from his legs. While he remained awake and spoke with rescuers for the most part, he did pass out a few times over the night.
Around 11 a.m. on December 22, the man was finally freed. A waiting ambulance transported him to the hospital after he was hoisted to street level while secured to a stokes basket. It is thought that he sustained crush injuries as a result of being trapped under heavy boulders and debris. Authorities have not released his identity.
