A man believed to have been abalone diving off the Sonoma Coast near Fort Ross early Friday was pulled to safety after falling off a cliff on his way back to the bluff top, authorities said.
Firefighters used rope rescue gear to recover the man after he reportedly fell 25 or 30 feet from a cliffside near Windermere Point, emergency personnel said.
Emergency crews were summoned shortly after 7:30 a.m. when someone called to report the man's fall, dispatchers said.
The crew aboard the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office helicopter attempted to fly in for a long line rescue with a 100-foot cable but was unable to reach the area because of fog, Sgt. Dave Thompson said.
He was eventually taken by ambulance to a local hospital, he said.
Additional details were not available.
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