2 dead after drowning in Santa Cruz waters near popular trail, authorities say

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. -- Two people are dead after drowning in Santa Cruz near West Cliff Drive, a popular walking path along the Pacific Ocean.

The Santa Cruz Fire Department said it appeared the victims were swept off the rocks by a wave just after 6 p.m. on Tuesday. It said lifeguards and fire rescue swimmers got to the scene in less than six minutes.

Tragically, they found those two victims, a man and woman, found face down in the water.

"CPR was initiated and continued with advanced life support all the way into the harbor, and at which point they received further medical treatment," said Brendan Daly, the marine safety officer with the Santa Cruz Fire Department. "Unfortunately, those victims did not survive."

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Many community members making their daily walk along the coast the following day were shocked by the news.

"It was horrifying just to learn," said Diane Castle a longtime resident in the areas of both Santa Cruz and the nearby Capitola.

She said she can't remember the last time something like this happened in that area.

"These are things I tend to read about more north or south along the coasts, down near Big Sur, of course, and even up the coast here," Castle said. "But not in town."

One local commercial fisherman told ABC7 that as tragic as it is, he sees too many people coming to the area not fully understanding what to expect.

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"People think they're safe. They go down there. If they get washed in, then they can be in real trouble," said Christian Zajac, a commercial fisherman in the area. "We have less sand this year, because there's been such big storms. It's washed a lot of the sand away, so then they have no place to climb out."

As the community works to process the tragedy that happened, fire officials say they hope it serves as an important reminder.

"It's a tragedy. We really feel for the families involved," Daly said. "Our big message that we want to put out to the public is, 'Know before you go'. So that's whether you find that information yourself, going to our website, checking in with a lifeguard -- is really getting that hands on information when you get to the beach, before you get in the water, before you go near the water -- checking in with somebody who has that information to give you."
Authorities have still not released the identity of the victims and it's unknown if they are local or tourists.

More information on beach safety can be found here.