A three-hour rescue operation took place on Signal Hill in St. John's Sunday evening.

Emergency crews were called to the North Head Trail at the national historic site around 7 p.m., after a report that a man had gone down over a cliff.

An officer with the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary found him about 60 metres down the cliff, and about 20 metres from the waters of the North Atlantic.

Rescued in windy conditions

St. John's Regional Fire Department's high angle rescue unit got to work in dark and windy conditions, and eventually reached the man and brought him back to North Head Trail after three hours.

"One of our technicians rappelled down over and basically got the gentleman in our basket, and we pulled him back up to the top," Platoon Chief Rick Dehann told CBC.

He was then transferred to a Cormorant helicopter dispatched from Gander, which brought him to the Health Science Centre in St. John's.

According to Dehann, the man had some cuts and bruises but did not appear to have life-threatening injuries.

Multiple agencies involved

A Canadian Coast Guard fast rescue craft was also involved in the rescue. The RNC said Eastern Health paramedics and Parks Canada staff also took part and the Salvation Army provided assistance to the rescue crews.

Dehann says the success of the rescue shows the importance of training on the Signal Hill area, given the unique challenges the area presents such as wind and steep cliffs.

"The area is not unfamiliar to us, but it presents different challenges at different times of year," he said.

"it was quite breezy up there. But our guys are pretty good. They master it no problem."