AN Ohio man fell 18.29 meters off a cliff while sleepwalking in a national forest in Kentucky, but suffered only minor injuries, officials said.

    Ryan Campbell, 27, was camping with his friends in the northern part of the Daniel Boone National Forest early last Thursday when he plummeted down a steep incline a few yards into his nighttime stroll.

    It took several hours for emergency crews to rescue him.

    “He had facial trauma and a head laceration, but his mood was very good. He was responding to our instructions,” said John May, with the Wolfe County search-and-rescue unit and one of the first responders to reach Campbell.

    Campbell fell on a bush, which broke his fall and saved him from potentially more serious or fatal injuries.

    Wolfe County’s volunteer squad was called in for its experience rescuing hikers and climbers from the forest’s steep cliffs. That part of the forest, near Red River Gorge, a recreational area, draws thousands of tourists annually.

    May said he had responded to falls where a person fell 49 meters and survived or fell 9.14 meters and died.

    “It really just depends on how you hit and what you hit,” he said. (SD-Agencies)