Angler falls 30 feet onto rocks — then came daring rescue during tropical storm in CA
A man who was out fishing as “torrential” rains and winds hit California slipped over a ledge and plunged 30 feet onto rocks below, officials said.
His head was injured in the fall, and he was unconscious when first responders hoisted him back up to the ledge, officials with Malibu Search and Rescue Team said in Aug. 20 posts on Instagram and Facebook.
It happened at about 5:30 p.m. near the Mastro’s Ocean Club in Malibu, officials said. The victim, a man in his 50s, was in critical condition when first responders took him to a trauma center.
Photos show first responders preparing to hoist the man up from slick rocks back onto the ledge amid persistent rainy and windy conditions.
“The combined teamwork during torrential rains and wind of #Hilary made the conditions particularly dangerous for rescuers,” officials said in the post.
Record rainfall of 1.53 inches hit the Los Angeles area from tropical storm Hilary, UPI reported. The previous record was 0.03 in 1906.
More than that was recorded in downtown L.A., the National Weather Service said on Twitter, rebranded as X. The area saw 2.48 inches of rainfall, NWS said.
The rain “swamped roads and downed trees” and trapped cars in floodwaters throughout the mountains along the coast northeast of L.A., the Associated Press reported.
“PLEASE STAY HOME AND OFF THE ROADS TONIGHT,” the NWS said in an Aug. 20 tweet. “This is a DANGEROUS situation.”
The storm made landfall as a tropical storm along Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula Sunday, Aug. 20. The Mexico-California border is about 125 miles south of Los Angeles.
