A man spent days trapped in a crevice on a San Diego cliff after his plan to build a tunnel shelter failed, officials said.
The unidentified man was rescued Friday morning following an hours-long rescue, the San Diego Fire Department said.
First responders rushed to the Sunset Cliffs area around 3:40 p.m. Thursday after receiving reports of someone trapped in a hole along the cliff.
Two passersby — who called 911 after hearing screams for help — found the man trapped from the waist down in a crevice that was at most 18 inches in diameter.
“SDFD crews do not know how long the man was in the hole but he told our crews he had been there for several days,” the department said in an alert.
“This rescue location is very dangerous for the rescuers as well as the patients.”
The man was found under a riprap tunnel where he was trying to create a shelter, SDFD Battalion Chief Craig Newell said at a press conference.
While tunneling, the man slipped and became pinned under a rock at the bottom of the tunnel, about 12-15 feet down the hillside, according to Newell.
The man told rescuers he had been trapped in the hole for several days. KGTV
Rescuers tried to pull the man out, but the tide slowly began to rise, forcing them to postpone the mission overnight.
The team took turns standing to care for the walkers, who were wrapped in blankets, given IV bags and fed Gatorade and hot packs.
The man lost consciousness several times throughout the night, SDFD said.
The man had made a shelter tunnel when he slipped and got stuck under a rock about 12-15 feet down the hillside. SDFD/X
The rescue mission resumed around 9 a.m. Friday, when a team of volunteer cave rescue specialists from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department arrived to tear up the concrete.
Two of the smallest first responders — one from San Diego, one from San Bernardino — were able to be lowered into the hole to drill a small hole and set a micro-explosion to remove the surrounding rock, Fox 5 reported.
“[The man] stated that he was relieved as rescuers worked to remove the rock from his leg,” SDFD said.
The man lost consciousness several times overnight while he was being watched by rescuers. KGTV
He was finally freed at 11am and flown via stokes basket to the road, where he was transferred to a stretcher and rushed to hospital.
Fortunately the man is in stable condition. He is believed to have suffered injuries to his stomach and legs, and was dehydrated from being trapped for nearly 20 hours, officials said.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
