VANCOUVER -- Vancouver firefighters were called to perform a technical rescue near Commercial Broadway SkyTrain station in East Vancouver Sunday afternoon.

Trevor Connelly, assistant chief of operations for Vancouver Fire Rescue Service, told CTV News Vancouver crews were called to the ravine near the intersection of Broadway and Victoria Drive after passersby heard someone calling for help below.

At the bottom of the Grandview Cut, near both the Millennium Line SkyTrain and commercial rail tracks, was a man Connelly estimated to be in his early 50s.

"Due to the topography and the steepness of the terrain, access is very precarious at best, so we called in our special operations team, our technical rescue, rope rescue guys," Connelly said. "They came and they roped themselves into the ravine and assessed the patient, determined that he had minor injuries and used ropes to haul him up."

The assistant chief said he's not sure how or why the man ended up at the bottom of the ravine.

"He was walking on his own, but he definitely needed help," Connelly said. "He wasn't walking out of there by himself."

"It is possible to get in there on foot, but not very safe or easy," the assistant chief added.