Three people died after being washed up on rocks and out to sea on Thursday afternoon in southern California, authorities said.
The trio, believed to be members of the same family but have not been publicly identified, were rescued from the water just before 5 p.m. in an area of Ventura County known as Deer Creek Beach, said Capt. Brian McGrath of the Ventura County Fire Department.
“When we got to the scene, we were able to do a quick search for water, and we were able to rescue all three out of the water,” he said. “However, they were mortally wounded.”
Exactly what happened is unclear, but the department tweeted Thursday that the victims “were dragged from the rocks into the ocean.”
Surfline estimated that surfing in the region was 2 to 3 feet at high tide at 2:28 pm
The beach, about a mile north of the Los Angeles county line, is quite unspoilt and gets relatively narrow at high tide.
Todd Miyazawa and Austin Mullen contributed
