Teenagers are increasingly flocking to Sunset Cliffs in San Diego to leap off the bluffs into the ocean after seeing the practice glamorised on social media, but several jumps this summer have ended in life-threatening injuries. At least three people have been airlifted out after hitting rocks, with locals now calling for tougher measures, including memorial-style warning signs, to deter what has become a dangerous rite of passage.

Lifeguards carried out 5,480 rescues along San Diego's 17-mile coastline between June and September, with between 7,500 and 8,000 people rescued in the area annually, many of them teenagers ignoring "do not jump" signage. Cliff diving at Sunset Cliffs has always been illegal, as city ordinance bans jumping from anything over five feet, and police have issued around 300 warnings and 20 citations this summer alone. One local teenager, Eli Twitty, described suffering six fractured vertebrae, a bruised tailbone and stitches after a jump, while another unidentified 17-year-old had to be rescued using a technical rope rig after bouncing face-first into the water.