Tourist Rescued After Falling Off Cliff Near Golden Gate Bridge

Nov. 06--Rescue crews and bystanders dramatically saved a tourist, who slipped down a cliff and was left dangling 300 feet above the water at an iconic Golden Gate Bridge viewpoint on the north side of the span, officials said Thursday.

The Florida man in his late 40s lost his footing while climbing a fence to snap a picture of the bridge around 5:15 p.m. Wednesday and fell 75 feet down a cliff at the Battery Spencer overlook, said Battalion Chief Mike Giannini of the Marin County Fire Department.

Giannini said a tourist from Russia managed to scamper down the cliff and grab the man by the wrist as he hung over the water.

The popular Marin Headlands spot along Conzelman Road provides one of the most sprawling views of the bridge and San Francisco, and is nearly always packed with throngs of tourists and Bay Area residents.

Minutes after the man fell, firefighters showed up and began the dangerous task of pulling him to safety.

Firefighter Willie Krakauer, also of the Marin County Fire Department, harnessed-up and rappelled down to the man, who the Russian tourist was still hanging onto.

"The guy was literally hanging on for life," Giannini said. "One of the ways that the guys described it to me was it was 'like a Hollywood movie.'"

Fifteen minutes after the 911 call came in, rescuers pulled the man to safety. He was checked out by paramedics and sent on his way.

"He was extremely lucky," Marin County Fire Battalion Chief Jeremey Pierce said in a statement Thursday. "He could have easily fallen all the way to the water."

Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky

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