Two women died last week after strong waves and dangerous water conditions swept them off a California beach, authorities said.
The two women had apparently been napping on Panther Beach in Santa Cruz on Wednesday, June 10, when the tide rose quickly and caught them off guard, Santa Cruz County Volunteer Fire Capt. Kyle Breton said in a statement shared by Cal Fire.
First responders with the Santa Cruz Fire Department, California State Parks and other local agencies responded to the scene just after 5 p.m. local time. They deployed approximately eight rescue swimmers, Breton said.
Rescuers pulled one woman from the water near Panther Beach and located the other at nearby Yellow Bank Beach.
On Monday, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to PEOPLE that both women — identified as 21-year-old Harshita Nair and Mahial Sran, 20, both of Fremont, Calif. — had died.
A “beach hazard” sign is seen near Santa Cruz, Calif.
“Both of these patients, we believe, were originally sleeping right at the keyhole, which is an area that we’re finding catches people unaware,” Breton said in a video posted to X, referring to an entrance to the beach underneath a rock formation.
“The tides come in and, in this case, they swept out two sleeping patients, but what we’re also seeing is that people go through the keyhole to get to Yellow Bank Beach and then get trapped … because the tides come in,” he explained.
Rescuers airlifted one of the women off the beach and up to the bluffs via helicopter, Breton said, while they carried the second up in a Stokes basket, referring to a stretcher used by first responders.
Both were transported to local hospitals, where they later died.
Cal Fire said in its statement that the incident marked the fifth rescue the agency had performed in a month along a one-mile stretch of coastline near Santa Cruz.
These women’s deaths amid reports of hazardous ocean conditions weren’t the only recent ones in the state.
On Thursday, June 11, officials located 5-year-old Amada Mia Brown’s body after she was swept out to sea while at an Orange County beach with her family.
Officials said Amada was last seen walking along Treasure Island Beach in Laguna Beach, Calif., before authorities received an emergency call about her being pulled into the water on the evening of Tuesday, June 9.
Authorities later found her during an early-morning aerial survey of the coastline.
Authorities in the region have issued warnings about the dangerous beach conditions.
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office has also recommended that California beachgoers never turn their backs on the ocean, watch out for so-called sneaker waves and changing surf conditions, learn how to recognize and respond to rip currents, swim only in areas staffed by lifeguards and keep children within arm’s reach when near water.
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