Cliff collapse in Fort Funston, San Francisco: One woman trapped

On February 22, 2019, a cliff at Fort Funston, San Francisco, collapsed burying one person under the rubble.

 Two women were walking up the cliff when it gave it. The first one was rescued immediately by San Francisco Fire Department. She was hospitalized with no life-threatening injuries according to officials.

"We had two adults with one canine that were trapped underneath there. Bystanders were able to rescue one of those victims and the canine. Our firefighters are working diligently in an effort to locate the second adult victim, which is reported to be a female," Jonathan Baxter, Lieutenant at San Francisco Fire Department, stated.

About 60 firefighters with rescue dog teams rushed to the site in an effort to find the unfortunate victim. They used shovels and metal detectors to scan the field. Helicopters were also employed to circle the area. Sadly, despite all the attempts, the woman was not found and the rescue teams were called off after searching for about 3 hours.

"It's not in our DNA to give up. I don't believe we've given up. I believe we've factually looked at what we have in front of us ... and we've had to leave from a rescue operation to a recovery operation. The likelihood that this is going to be a survivable incident is very unlikely," Lt. Baxter commented.

Later that night, officials summoned cadaver dogs to track the woman's body. Tidal waves made the operation more challenging after moving a "huge quantity of the sandy material" from the shore to the sea.

According to updates on Saturday, 23 of February, the body of the victim was still missing.

Lt. Baxter pointed out the severity of avoiding unstable cliffs in the area. He also stated that the are numerous signs warning people to stay away from such slopes. "They are very dangerous. At this time, it would be speculative for me to say these individuals were actually off of the beaten path or not, and we're not going to go there," he said.

The cliffs in Fort Funston are hazardous due to continual and intense erosion.

For more information about the rescue operation and the cliff collapse click the video below.