A man walking in a darkened area of City Heights tumbled 30 feet into a gully Wednesday night, San Diego Fire-Rescue officials say.
At about 7:30 p.m., the man fell down a hill near the 2600 block of Euclid Avenue.
The fall left him badly injured and unable to get out.
When firefighters arrived, they discovered it would be too hard to get the patient out via ropes.
A rescue helicopter was called in, and a firefighter descended from the chopper to where the man was lying.
Rescuers put him on a stretcher and airlifted him out. He was taken to Scripps Mercy Hospital for unknown injuries.