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A dramatic rescue mission took place in Oceanside on Saturday morning (July 3).
Firefighters, paramedics, and police officers all helped pull a man to safety after getting stuck between boulders at Buccaneer Beach, reports City News Service (CNS).
According to Battalion Chief Jessamyn Specht, the Oceanside Fire Department responded to a report of a trapped victim at 2:45 A.M. on Saturday.
They discovered a man in his 40s trapped between large boulders at the south of the beach. With the tide coming in, he had slipped and fallen into a gap between the boulders.
Lucky for the man, a bystander heard his cries for help and was eventually able to locate him.
"With the tide coming in, time was of the essence as crews worked to release the victim from the rocks," Specht told CNS. "Waves started to crash over the rescuers and the victim became submerged in water."
The Oceanside Police Department gave the man a Scuba tank and regulator so he could breathe as the waves kept coming in.
"The victim eventually lost consciousness and was unable to maintain the Scuba regulator in his mouth," Specht said. "Fortunately, the rescue crews were able to secure webbing around the victim and pull him out, approximately 45 minutes after E212s (the firefighting unit) arrival."
After he was pulled from the rocks, firefighters and paramedics revived the man and took him to Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla for evaluation.