Teenager airlifted to hospital after fall off cliff at Emerald Bay, suffers serious injuries

A 15-year old boy was rescued from Emerald Bay and flown to a trauma center by helicopter after he fell down a cliff and became pinned under rocks, Wednesday, July 18, authorities said.

The boy lost his right arm and suffered injuries to a leg before he was flown to UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange about 4:13 p.m., authorities said.

Firefighters were dispatched to Emerald Bay about 3:20 p.m. on a report of a person trapped, Orange County Fire Authority Fire Captain Tony Bommarito said.

The boy was flown to a trauma center by an OCFA helicopter at 4:13 p.m. Laguna Beach Fire, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and OC Lifeguards also responded to the scene, Bommarito said.

It was not immediately clear how the rock wound up on top of the teen. According to reports from the scene, the boy had been crawling on rocks when he fell and some of the rocks rolled on top of him.

More information to come.

City News Service contributed to this report.