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Collapsing California Cliff Claims 3 Lives Along Beach

Associated Press

   ENCINITAS, CALIF. - A popular surfing beach was closed Saturday after a
   cliff collapsed, sending tons of sandstone onto beachgoers and killing
   three people.

   A 30-foot-long slab of the cliff plunged onto the sand near Grandview
   Beach north of San Diego. A KNSD-TV helicopter captured footage of
   beach chairs, towels, surf boards and beach toys strewn about the sand.

   Other beachgoers and lifeguards at a nearby tower scrambled to the
   towering pile of debris to help dig out victims.

   "I saw first responders, and I saw lifeguards frantically digging
   people out of the debris," Jim Pepperdine, who lives nearby, told the
   San Diego Union-Tribune.

   A woman died at the scene, and two more people later died at hospitals.
   Another person was taken to a hospital, and a person who had minor
   injuries was treated at the scene, according to statements from the
   city.

   Their names and ages were not immediately released. All the victims
   were adults, authorities said.

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