Two people standing on rocks at a scenic spot in California were killed when a large wave swept them out to sea, according to law enforcement officials.
The Santa Cruz Fire Department said it received emergency calls Tuesday about two people being washed off the rocks at West Cliff Drive.
A number of first responders from multiple agencies found the victims "floating face down in the ocean," the fire department said.
"Advanced life support measures were immediately initiated as the victims were assisted on board the vessels and directed toward the harbor," the statement said, adding that further life-saving efforts were performed when they arrived in the harbor.
"Despite uninterrupted resuscitative efforts, both victims succumbed to the elements and could not be resuscitated," the fire department said.
Fire Chief Rob Oatey told SFGate that signs are posted in the area to warn of the dangers of being swept away by a large wave.
"The surface is unstable, it's constantly changing," he told the outlet. "If you end up in the water, there's a very turbulent current and then pocket coves, caves and different rocks, so you end up getting trapped or knocked unconscious."
Oatey said the rocks are known to be treacherous.
"It's an area that locals, that us as rescuers, call 'death rocks,'" he said. "It's an area where we've had multiple rescues, we've lost a lot of people over the course of years and decades in that area."
The victims' identities were not released.
