US couple survives 300-foot fall into a canyon, rescuers call it miracle

A couple from the US managed to survive a 300-foot fall into a canyon in Southern California.

Cloe Fields and her boyfriend, Christian Zelada, were driving on a two-lane highway through the Angeles National Forest when a driver behind them started honking profusely.

Zelada pulled over to let the car pass. Suddenly, their car hit some loose gravel, lost traction, and plunged over the edge. The car spun 180 degrees before it came hurtling down into Monkey Canyon. It collided with a few trees before flipping over and landing on its wheels at the canyon's bottom.

The two survived the almost fatal accident with only some bruises, cuts and concussions. They even managed to crawl out of the car on their own and call emergency services, per a report in The Mirror.

The couple managed to send a signal to emergency services with the help of the woman's iPhone. Fields found her phone lying 10 yards from the car with the screen smashed. The phone gave her a prompt to contact emergency services.

The new feature in the iPhone is called Emergency SOS via satellite. It allows users to send emergency messages via satellite if there is no cellular or Wi-Fi coverage.

The Sheriff's Department received a call from Apple's emergency call centre informing them of the accident and the couple's exact location. The department dispatched a search and rescue team. They were hoisted out of the canyon with the help of a helicopter.

"It's a miracle in several senses. 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," said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Sergeant John Gilbert.

"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," he added. According to the California Highway Patrol, an investigation has been launched into the matter.