Two men dead, third hurt after cliff fall

Two men have died and a third man is fighting for his life with "horrific injuries" after they fell from a cliff following a verbal argument.

Police say the three men were on a cliff near the Point Cartwright lighthouse at Buddina on the Sunshine Coast on Saturday afternoon when a 22-year-old man fell 22 metres to his death on the rocks below.

Two men aged 20 and 23 tumbled after him, also falling about 22 metres.

They were taken to the Royal Brisbane Hospital for treatment, but the 20-year-old died just before 6am (AEST) on Sunday.

Police say numerous people who were admiring the cliffside sunset saw the men fall.

Sunshine Coast District Inspector Darryl White said the three local men were in a group of six gathered at the cliff when a verbal argument broke out.

He said there was information to suggest the group had been drinking earlier.

"What's happened is that members of the group have had some sort of verbal argument," Insp White said.

"One of the males has then climbed over the safety barrier, and outside that safety barrier there is a narrow grass shelf some two metres wide leading to the cliff face.

"Witnesses indicate he has lost his balance and fallen to the ground, then slipped over the edge of the cliff face straight away."

Insp White said two of the man's friends - who had been involved in the argument - then went to the cliff's edge.

"They looked over the edge and could see he was on the rock shelf at the bottom of the cliff face," he said.

"And it is unknown at this stage if they have slipped and fallen over themselves or in fact they've attempted to climb down to render assistance and have fallen in an attempt to do so."

Insp White said the surviving man was in a severely critical condition.

"They are horrific injuries. He has both trauma to his head and internal organs, as you would expect when you fall 22 metres onto rocks below."

He said the darkness and the inaccessible location of the three men made the rescue operation extremely difficult.

"Families have been advised. Just everyone was devastated," he said.

Police are preparing a brief for the state coroner.