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ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — A 20-year-old woman whose car plunged down iconic Signal Hill in St. John’s, N.L., jumped or was ejected just before it crashed partway down a rocky cliff Sunday high over the Atlantic Ocean.

St. John’s platoon fire chief Rick Mackey said the woman somehow breached the gate at the popular national historic site around 8 a.m.

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Mackey said the woman was either thrown or jumped from the vehicle as it nosedived over the wind-swept rock face just below Cabot Tower, coming to rest about 90 metres down the 250-metre cliff.

“As you can imagine, that was a bit of a new one for us,” said Mackey, who has been a firefighter for 30 years. “I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

Mackey said the woman, the car’s only occupant, landed roughly 45 metres down the cliff face and was rescued by emergency crews within about 20 minutes. She was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

“I can’t even speculate on how or why she managed to be up there,” said Mackey, adding that the investigation is ongoing.