One Hiker Dead, One Critical After Cliff Collapse at Point Reyes National Seashore

iStock/Thinkstock(SAN FRANSISCO) — One hiker is dead and another is in critical condition Monday after they were caught in a rockslide near Arch Rock in Point Reyes National Seashore.

The two hikers were walking along Bear Valley Trail in the Marin County, California, national park Saturday evening when they reached the end of the trail, the Arch Rock overlook, John Dell’Osso, a spokesman for the U.S. National Park Service told ABC station KGO-TV in San Francisco.

The cliff unexpectedly gave way and they fell some 60 feet below, both covered in rubble and rock, Dell’Osso said.

One of the hikers was pronounced deceased at the scene and the other was airlifted to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, he said.

Park officials had put up signs at the trailhead Wednesday warning that visitors could not hike out to the end of Bear Valley Trail because a fissure had appeared at the “tip” of the overlook, Dell’Osso said.

The park service issued a trail advisory on its website on Thursday warning hikers that fissures along the top of Arch Rock may have weakened it.

“Bluffs along the California coast are inherently unstable. They are prone to crumbling and sliding,” the website reads. “It is very dangerous to climb or walk along the edge of cliffs.”

Dell’Osso said park officials even put a 24-inch by 40-inch sign just past the start of the trail to warn visitors of the unstable bluff.

The Marin County coroner’s office will release the identity of the decedent pending notification of next of kin, Dell’Osso said.

Follow @ABCNewsRadio
Copyright © 2015, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.