Heart-stopping moment man trapped on 500-foot cliff is rescued by helicopter

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Heart-stopping video captured the moment a man was rescued by a helicopter from a 500-foot cliff amid perilously high winds in California.

The rescue operation got underway on Thursday when the California Highway Patrol (CHP) Golden Gate Division Air Operations said a local fisherman reported seeing a man stranded up on Mussel Rock.

The coastal formation is roughly  8 miles south of downtown San Francisco and has an almost vertical cliff face of 500 feet. The man was stuck about halfway down, the agency said.

A H-30 helicopter was dispatched to rescue the man, which the rescue agency said was the safest option considering his location. Wind speeds were high throughout the rescue.

“We had to do a short search,” pilot Brent Marker told ABC7. “We weren’t sure where he was on the cliff we couldn’t see him”.

He was eventually located and a video released by the CHP  showed the man, dressed only in swim shorts, braced up against the rock.

Sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean and California coastline could also be seen in the clip, which was recorded by a camera attached to a CHP officer’s helmet.

The officer was seen descending from the helicopter to the man’s level and strapping him into a harness. Both the man and CHP officer were taken away from the cliff face and to safety at a nearby landing zone, the agency said. Fire officials then became responsible for his care.

No injuries were reported and it was unclear how the man became stuck on the cliff, or how long he was there for.

The CHP’s Golden Gate air operations unit is based at the Napa County Airport, and patrols the nine Bay Area Counties.