A man plays "Pokemon Go" on a California beach. Two men fell from a cliff in Encinitas, Calif., while playing the smartphone game. Photo by Matthew Corley/Shutterstock.com

ENCINITAS, Calif., July 15 (UPI) -- Two men who fell from a seaside cliff north of San Diego told authorities they became distracted while playing augmented reality game Pokemon Go.

Encinitas fire Battalion Chief Robbie Ford said one of the men fell about 50 feet down the bluff in Encinitas while the other man fell about 80 to 90 feet to the beach below.


Ford said the man who fell to the beach told San Diego County sheriff's deputies he and the other man had been playing smartphone game Pokemon Go, which sends players to real-world locations to capture digital monsters.

The man who fell 50 feet down the bluff was rescued by firefighters using ropes and harnesses, Ford said.

The men were taken to Scripps La Jolla Trauma Center with unspecified injuries described as moderate shortly after their 1 p.m. fall.

Fire Marshal Anita Pupping urged Pokemon Go players to use caution.

"We'd like people to stay clear of all the bluffs, overhangs and cliffs," she told USA Today.

Sgt. Rich Eaton of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department agreed players of the game should steer clear of dangerous areas.

"I think people just need to realize this is a game," Eaton told the Los Angeles Times. "It's not worth your life. No game is worth your life."

Pokemon Go has been downloaded more than 10 million times to Apple and Android devices following its July 7 release.