By David Hernandez
The San Diego Union-Tribune
ENCINITAS, Calif. — Two men apparently trying to collect “Pokémon Go” virtual characters on their smartphones were rescued after falling off a bluff in Encinitas Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.
One of them fell to the beach, about 80 to 90 feet, and the other man fell about 50 feet down the cliff, Encinitas fire Battalion Chief Robbie Ford said. Both were taken to a trauma center with unspecified injuries.
Ford said the man who fell to the beach told sheriff’s deputies he and the other man were playing the smartphone game when they fell over the edge near Fourth and F streets shortly after 1 p.m.
The increasingly popular game allows players to wander real-world streets and other geography in search of virtual Pokémon characters that at certain locations appear on the screen for users to “capture.”
Ford said firefighters used ropes and harnesses to pull the man on the bluff back up while lifeguards treated the man on the beach. The two were taken to a La Jolla trauma center. Officials did not know their ages.
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