Carlsbad

An 18-year-old man was hospitalized in serious condition late Thursday after he lost his footing in a hazardous Carlsbad canyon and tumbled 75 feet, bouncing off rocks, before coming to rest in a pond, police said.

The victim, Thomas Tople of Escondido, was suffering from various fractures and cuts, said a spokeswoman at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, where Tople was rushed by Life Flight helicopter following a lengthy rescue operation.

It took emergency crews two hours to bring the victim up from the canyon bottom to street level, where the rescue aircraft waited, police said.

The incident occurred shortly before 5 p.m. in an area known as Box Canyon, a popular site for thrill-seekers who find jumping points from which to leap into the pond below, authorities say.

The canyon, situated near the intersection of Cadencia and Piragua streets, is surrounded by a fence and signs warning off trespassers, police said.