An 18-year-old man was seriously injured when he slammed into a mountainside above Mokule'ia while parachuting Tuesday evening.

The man was with a group of friends who climbed to an area known as Climbing Wall about a half-mile from Camp Erdman, said fire department spokesman Capt. Terry Seelig.

The four were equipped with parachutes and they either jumped or let the wind fill their chutes so they could glide down to the beach, Seelig said.

Several of the jumpers made it to the beach below, but the 18-year-old ran into trouble and started to spin, Seelig said. The jump-off point was "at least a couple thousand feet" high and the man fell a couple of hundred feet before crashing into the side of the mountain, Seelig said.

Fire rescue crews were called at about 6:30 p.m. and managed to lower the man to safety at 7:50 p.m. "It was near the top and we had to hike up to reach him," Seelig said.

The man had serious injuries and was taken to a hospital.