The rescue workers spoke of a "miracle": all four occupants of a car - two adults and two children - had survived a 75-meter fall from a cliff in the US state of California. According to media reports, the police have now announced that the driver allegedly steered the car off the road on purpose in order to kill himself and the others in the vehicle. An arrest warrant was issued against the 42-year-old for attempted murder. However, the background is still unclear.

According to the police, the car went off the road about 30 kilometers south of San Francisco on the Pacific Coast Highway on Monday and fell off a cliff. The up to 90 meter deep spot is known as "Devil's Slide".

The driver, his 41-year-old companion, a seven-year-old boy and a four-year-old boy were taken to the hospital with serious injuries, it said. It was unclear what relationship the inmates had to one another. At first it was said that it was a couple and their children. According to media reports, the driver is a doctor and works in Los Angeles.

"Unfortunately, we come to such operations far too often. It was nothing short of a miracle that they survived," fire chief Brian Pottenger told reporters at the scene of the accident. The car overturned several times and landed on its wheels on a rocky stretch of coast. Such accidents were usually fatal.

To save the children, firefighters abseiled from the street. The two adults were rescued by a helicopter. The police posted a video of the dramatic rescue operation, which was complicated by strong winds. The rescuers themselves had risked their lives in the operation, it said.

According to police, the car was a Tesla model. It is not clear what driving mode the car was in, but according to current knowledge this did not play a role in the accident.