Bikini-clad woman saved in daring rescue after dangling from treacherous San Francisco cliff

Rescuers in San Francisco saved a bikini-clad woman dangling from a treacherous cliff near an oceanside landmark Wednesday afternoon.

Aerial video from the scene shows the woman clinging to the side of a cliff near the city’s iconic Cliff House restaurant, perched above the dangerous shores of Ocean Beach.

The shoeless woman was discovered gripping to the cliffside about 70 feet down from the top of the craggy cliff and high above the rocky waterline of the Pacific Ocean.

SF Fire Department responders were seen dropping down a rescue cable for the woman to secure herself, and then a firefighter rappelled down the cliff to reach her.  

The rescuer then strapped a harness and a helmet onto the her before crews were able to walk her safely back up the cliff and away from danger.

Firefighters then placed the woman in an ambulance as medical workers evaluated her for any injuries.

SFFD officials said the woman was rescued at 4:50 p.m.

Fire officials said the woman was swimming at the dangerous beach when she was caught in a rip current.

The current pulled her to an area of the beach known as Kelly’s Cove, where the water began to pull her out to sea.

The woman attempted to save herself by scaling the the cliffs at the shoreline but froze after climbing some distance above the water.

A bystander called 911 and fire crews came to the rescue.

“Female patient has been retrieved from the cliff and is now being evaluated by fire personnel on scene,” SFFD spokesman Lieutenant Ken Smith said in a statement.

“There have been no injuries to any fire department members during this rescue.”

Fire officials said the woman appeared to be moving well as she climbed back up the cliff.

She was evaluated and released by a medical team at the scene, before walking away unscathed.

San Francisco’s Ocean Beach is notoriously dangerous due to strong rip currents and violent waves, prompting multiple high-risk rescues each year.

Between 2014 and 2020, at least eight people died there, leading to official warnings against swimming at the beach.

A man died there in May while attempting to rescue a dog.

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