A hiker walking beyond the fence line along the bluffs of the Mississippi River in St. Paul was injured Saturday when he slipped and fell 75 feet down a steep, heavily wooded cliff, authorities said.

His fall was stopped when his leg got caught in a tree, St. Paul fire marshal Steve Zaccard said in a news release. The man, whose name and age have not been released, suffered a leg injury.

He was hiking with his wife, who was not hurt. She accompanied him to Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis after his rescue.

St. Paul Fire Department personnel were called to Mississippi River Boulevard and Summit Avenue about 1:30 p.m. Tactical teams conducted what Zaccard called "a high-angle rescue procedure" to reach the victim. A medic then treated his injury, and then he was hoisted up to the top of the bluff in a basket.

At 2:20 p.m. while still at the scene of the rescue, the State Patrol sought help from the tactical team to travel to Lake County, in northern Minnesota, to rescue another victim trapped on a cliff. That rescue was still underway Saturday night.

STAFF REPORT