Indian-origin US man drives Tesla off cliff with wife, 2 children inside

A 41-year-old Indian-origin man has been arrested in US on suspicion of attempted murder and child abuse after he intentionally drove a Tesla off a cliff with his wife and two children inside, according to media reports.

Dharmesh A Patel of Pasena, California, will be sent to San Mateo County Jail after he is released from a hospital, highway patrol said in a statement.

Dharmesh Patel, his wife and children survived and were rescued on Monday at Devil's Slide in San Mateo County, California Highway Patrol said.

rescue involved firefighters who rappelled down cliff to save two children, a 4-year-old girl, and a 9-year-old boy. A helicopter crew rescued two ults from vehicle, NBC News, an American brocast television network, said.

rescue was described as almost miraculous, New York Times newspaper said.

Tesla was 250 to 300 feet down, according to highway patrol.

"Based on evidence collected, investigators developed probable cause to believe this incident was an intentional act," it said in a statement.

Brian Pottenger, incident commander for California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said witnesses called 911 after crash.

He said that it was "very, very rare" for people to survive such a steep fall and that children's car seats may have saved ir lives.

"We were actually very shocked when we found survivable victims in vehicle. So that actually was a hopeful moment for us," Mr Pottenger said.

children h moderate injuries, Mr Pottenger said.

Authorities plan to charge Mr Patel on three counts of attempted murder and two counts of child abuse, said Officer Andrew Barclay, a spokesman for highway patrol's Golden Gate Division.