Tourist rescued after Marin Headlands tumble

A man who fell 75 feet down a cliff at the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge was rescued by Marin County firefighters and a good Samaritan Wednesday evening.

The Florida man between 45 and 50 years old who spoke with a thick accent slipped after climbing a fence so he could take a photo near Battery Spencer off Conzelman Road in the Marin Headlands, Marin County Fire Department officials said.

He was clinging with one hand to the wrist of a Russian man around 20 years old, and held onto vegetation with the other hand. According to the fire department, he had no support under his feet.

Firefighters from the Southern Marin and Marin County fire departments arrived soon after an emergency call at 5:14 p.m.

Marin County Firefighter Willie Krakauer put on a harness on the way to the scene, and Southern Marin firefighters set up a rope system when Krakauer arrived, fire officials said.

Krakauer, who is serving his first year as a full-time firefighter, rappelled down the cliff and hooked a rope to the dangling man, who was hauled to the top of the cliff within 15 minutes of the emergency call, fire officials said.

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