Bay City News Service
SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — A helicopter rescued a man who fell off a 30-foot cliff in San Rafael Saturday evening, California Highway Patrol officials said.
The 62-year-old San Rafael man was airlifted from Weber Point by CHP Helicopter 30 at about 6 p.m., Officer Shaun Bouyea said.
The man was found at the bottom of a 30-foot cliff, lying on a small outcropping at the edge of the San Pablo Bay, he said.
Paramedics from the San Rafael Fire Department arrived and positioned the victim so that helicopter crew members could lift his body about 50 feet high into the helicopter using its hoist system.
The man, who suffered a significant head injury, was transferred to a waiting ambulance that took him to a local hospital, Bouyea said.
Neither CHP nor the Marin County Sheriff’s Office had any information about the victim’s status.
A paramedic from Napa County Airport was onboard the helicopter to provide medical assistance. The San Rafael Fire Department, Marin County Sheriff’s Office and CHP all responded to the scene.
The entire helicopter rescue took about 10 minutes, Bouyea said.
“It looked more dramatic than it was, but all in all it was successful rescue,” he said.
CHP’s air operations unit includes two helicopters based out of the Napa County Airport that respond to calls within the Bay Area, Boyea said.
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