San Francisco authorities dig for woman buried by landslide

SAN FRANCISCO — Dozens of rescue workers were frantically digging with shovels Friday afternoon in search of a woman believed to be buried by a landslide near a San Francisco beach.

"We need to find that person, and we need to find that person now," San Francisco Fire Department Lt. Jon Baxter said more than two hours after the landside occurred above a beach popular with dog walkers.

The two women were walking with a dog about halfway on the 160-foot cliff above Fort Funston beach about 2:40 p.m., Baxter said. Witnesses said the two women each had a hand extended and touching the cliff when it gave way and they were swept to the beach in the landslide, Baxter said.

Baxter said bystanders pulled one woman and the dog from the landslide but that the other woman was buried. The rescued woman was taken to a hospital with injuries that aren't life-threatening, Baxter said.

Rescue workers were also "pinging" the woman's mobile phone, and a metal detector was on the way to the scene, Baxter said. Two dogs specially trained to find trapped people still alive were running up and down the slide.

"Cadaver" dogs trained to find human remains were also on their way to the scene about 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of the Golden Gate Bridge, he said.

"We are not giving up hope at this time. But we are thinking methodically," Baxter said.

Fort Funston, a former military installation set above steep sandstone cliffs, is a protected area within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and a popular off-leash area for dog walkers.