A man was killed when he fell 60 feet while rock climbing with his two adult children Saturday afternoon in Clear Creek Canyon west of Golden, authorities say.

When paramedics reached him he was not breathing and unresponsive, said Karlyn Tilley, Golden Fire spokeswoman. Rescuers rushed him to St. Anthony Central Hospital, where he was declared dead, according to a Jefferson County spokeswoman.

The man was climbing with technical gear at a popular cliff when he fell 60 feet at about 1 p.m., about a half mile from a trailhead near U.S. Highway 6, Tilley said.

Several firefighters from Highlands, Golden, Foothills and Genesee fire departments responded, Tilley said. About a dozen climbers who were nearby when the man fell helped with the rescue, she added.

“They reached the climber and got him off the mountain within an hour,” Tilley said. “They worked very very fast to do what they could to save his life.”

Deputies from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the cause of the fall.

The identity of the 62-year-old climber has not been released.

Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206, denverpost.com/coldcases or twitter.com/kmitchelldp