Teen survives 400-foot fall in Washington state canyon

A teenager who plunged 400 feet from a dangerous canyon in Washington state over the Memorial Day weekend escaped with only minor injuries, the Mason County Sheriff's Office said Monday .

The teen was walking along an old trail under the High Steel Bridge, one of the tallest railroad bridges in the United States, when he fell Saturday, authorities said.

“We've been telling people to stay off these trails because they're dangerous, but they either haven't seen the warning signs or they're ignoring them,” said Tim Ripp, a patrol corporal with the Mason County sheriff who was part of the rescue mission. .

Authorities have not identified the teen, who suffered only scratches to both arms and was taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation. NBC affiliate KING of Seattle reported he was 19 years old.

Five to seven people fall from the bridge each year, and the majority die, Ripp said, even though the area has scattered warning signs, including one describing how steep, slippery and dangerous the bridge is.

During the two-hour rescue mission, police officers and firefighters used a rope and harness to scale the bridge and rescue the teen, the county sheriff's office said.

“I hooked him up to a harness and brought him all the way back,” West Mason Fire Chief Matthew Welander said, according to KING. “He was walking on washed out land that a lot of people use that has sort of become a trail.”

He ended up as far as the river, he added.

Officials said a lack of respect for nature and a lack of care were part of the problem as people continued to fall from the bridge.

Referring to the teen, Welander said, “He was incredibly lucky,” the station reported.