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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Charlie Jones

'Miracle' as couple in car survive huge one-in-a-million 300ft fall down canyon

A couple lost control of their car and plunged 300ft into a canyon landing on the roof of their car.

By some miracle, Cloe Fields and her boyfriend, Christian Zelada, survived the fall, after which Christian said it was "1 in 100 million" they got to walk away.

They had been driving on a two-lane highway through Angeles National Forest, California, US, on December 13 when a car pulled up behind them and started honking, they said.

The road runs alongside the steep Monkey Canyon with the canyon floor 300ft below.

As they pulled over to let the car behind them pass, their car hit some loose gravel and they lost control.

Footage from the rescue helicopter shows the rescue underway (Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department)

After spinning 180 degrees and with nothing the driver Christian could do, the car plunged over the edge.

As the car fell, it hit some trees before flipping over and landing on its roof.

By some miracle, the two weren't badly hurt, crawling out from the wreckage with cuts, bruises, and mild concussion.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Sgt. John Gilbert said: “It’s a miracle in several senses,” Gilbert said. “Nearly all of the vehicles that go over the side of the road in that particular area turn out to be fatalities. For them to survive the crash — is a miracle."

The two fell in an area notorious for poor phone signal, but their phones could still be used to send out an emergency call.

Gilbert continued: “The fact they had a piece of technology that survived the crash and it worked as advertised and got rescue to them in a timely manner is another miracle.”

Cloe found her iPhone 10 yards from the car with the screen smashed. Despite that, it prompted her to contact emergency services via satellite.

The Emergency SOS feature allows newer iPhones to still get help even without signal or wifi access.

Cloe held her phone up towards a satellite which allowed her to call for help.

The Sheriff’s Department received a call at about 1.55 pm from Apple’s emergency call centre, providing an exact and a rescue team was dispatched.

A helicopter was used to hoist the couple out of the canyon and rushed to hospital, but thankfully no serious injuries were found.

An investigation has been launched to try figure out how the car came to crash, but so far no further information has been provided by the police.

Christian later told Cloe: “We were in the 1 in 100 million who get to walk away with our lives and our limbs.”

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