California man survives 75-foot fall from mountain tramway area, officials say

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A California man survived a 75-foot fall from a mountainous area at the top of a tramway system with only minor injuries, according to a report.

An unidentified man fell from the top of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, which transports visitors 2.5 miles across the Sonoran Desert to the top of the Mt. San Jacinto summit, about 8,500 ft. above the desert. He climbed over the guardrail this weekend and slipped, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The Aerial Tram desends into the Valley with a group of sight seers. (Photo by Carlos Chavez/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
(Photo by Carlos Chavez/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

A restaurant worker at the top of the summit allegedly witnessed the man fall and immediately phoned emergency services, Greg Purdy, vice president of marketing and public affairs at the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, told the outlet.

The man landed on an icy area and icy conditions prevented a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department helicopter from assisting in the recovery effort, the paper reported. 

Instead, better-equipped firefighters lowered a stretcher to rescue the man, who denied medical attention as he only had minor injuries, Riverside County Fire spokesperson April Newman said, according to the report.

#TramIC UPDATE- Firefighters successfully rescued patient, bringing them to safety at the top of the tram. The patient was not injured.

The Riverside County Fire Department released a statement initially saying the man fell from 300-ft, but shared an update clarifying the fall was from 75-ft. 

“Our first priority is not the how it happened, but how a patient is doing during our rescue,” Newman added, according to the report.

The man and a guest he was with left via the tramway, officials said.

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