Kimiya Manoochehri

USA TODAY

LOS ANGELES -- Two men suffered moderate injuries when they tumbled off a seaside cliff north of San Diego while reportedly playing Pokemon Go, fire officials said Thursday.



The pair fell after climbing a fence and disregarding warning signs in order to get on the bluff in Encinitas, Calif., said Fire Marshal Anita Pupping.

One of the men told sheriffs’ deputies that he and his friend were playing the smartphone augmented-reality game Pokemon Go when they fell over the cliff's edge, according to the San Diego Union Tribune. Pupping said she could not confirm the report. The names of the victims were not released.

Pupping says one of the men tumbled about 50 feet. His companion fell about 80 to 90 feet, landing on the beach at 1 p.m. Wednesday. “The fire department had to extricate them with ropes and harnesses and such,” said Pupping.

Pokemon Go has become a summer phenomenon, a game played on smartphones in which characters are projected on the screen amid the player's actual surroundings. The goal of the game is to capture the animated figures. Unlike past app-based games, Pokemon Go is being credited with coaxing kids and adults to exercise by having to walk to play. But it also has landed players in hot water.

One player reportedly found a body while playing in Wyoming, some have been robbed and other players have become involved in traffic accidents, according to news reports.

In Encinitas, those who try to play on the cliffs are asking for trouble.

“We’d like people to stay clear of all the bluffs, overhangs and cliffs,” said Pupping, though she was not able to confirm if the two men were indeed playing Pokemon Go at the time of their fall.



Both men were taken to the Scripps La Jolla Trauma Center for treatment.