Massive waves hit California coast, leaving at least 1 person dead and 2 missing
One person is dead and two others were missing after large waves hammered the California coastline Monday amid a high surf warning.
First responders were called to Sunset State Beach, a state park in Watsonville, around 11:30 a.m. Monday for a man trapped under debris washed up from a large wave, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office said in a statement obtained by Paste BN Tuesday. The man was transported to an area hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
About 30 minutes south, at Marina State Beach, Marina police and fire personnel responded to a water rescue incident around noon Monday, according to a news release from the Marina Police Department.
Initial reports indicated that an adult male had been "overcome by high surf and pulled into the water," according to police. Bystanders attempted to help the individual, but they could not rescue them due to large waves and strong currents, police said.
Marina police said an "extensive search" was conducted with assistance from the Coast Guard and the California Highway Patrol Air Unit, and despite those efforts, the individual was not located. The search was suspended around 2 p.m. as "worsening conditions were deemed too dangerous to continue," police said. The person's name was not released and the case is under investigation.
Additionally, an adult male went missing in Pebble Beach Monday. Emergency responders were dispatched to Ocean Road following reports of a victim being washed off the rocks into the ocean, Cal Fire said in an emailed statement to Paste BN Tuesday.
"Despite an extensive search effort, challenging ocean conditions forced rescuers to terminate their search," Cal Fire said in the statement.
The individual remains missing, and the U.S. Coast Guard will "transition to a recovery search" as ocean conditions improve in the coming days, according to Cal Fire.
"We extend our thoughts to the victim’s family and loved ones during this difficult time. Local agencies continue to urge the public to exercise extreme caution near the ocean, especially during periods of hazardous conditions," Cal Fire said in the statement.
Heavy surf causes a Santa Cruz pier to partially collapse, sending 3 people into the water
A portion of a pier in Santa Cruz collapsed into the Pacific Ocean on Monday, sending three city workers into the sea after high surf slammed the coast.
The Wharf, a public pier, is home to several restaurants in Santa Cruz, about 70 miles south of San Francisco. The pier was evacuated and closed to all emergency responders just after 1 p.m.
Two city workers were rescued by lifeguards and the third rescued themselves, according to reporting by the Salinas Californian, part of the Paste BN Network.
Construction crews for the city were tearing down a restaurant located on the Wharf, which had been damaged in a storm surge last December, when the collapse occurred, eyewitnesses shared with local CBS affiliate KION-TV.
The damaged section of the pier was closed to the public due to previous storm damage and no members of the public were present when the collapse occurred.
Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at Paste BN. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@gannett.com.