A man and a woman who were seen wearing waders and searching for mussels at Pescadero State Beach were swept from the rocks into the ocean around 3:15 p.m. Sunday, said a San Mateo County Fire Department spokesperson.
A witness was able to get down to the water and pull the man out of the waves but reported the woman was too far away to reach, said San Mateo County Fire Department Public Information Officer Cecile Juliette. When firefighters arrived, the woman was about 20 yards out, and then she went under.
The man was rushed to a nearby hospital in a ground ambulance, Juliette said. U.S. Coast Guard helicopters were searching for the missing woman Sunday afternoon. The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department, California State Parks, Coastside Fire Protection District, La Honda Fire Department and American Medical Response San Mateo County were also on the scene.
The area is currently under a High Surf Advisory with extreme ocean condition.
Elsewhere in the Bay Area, a San Jose man in his 30s was swept from the bluffs into the ocean in the Marin Headlands area off Point Bonita, Golden Gate National Park Service reported on Twitter. The man and his friends were scrambling along the bluffs when the high surf caught him at about 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
National Park Rangers, Southern Marin Fire Protection District, a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter and lifeboat, and a California Highway Patrol helicopter were all part of the search for the man, which was hampered by extreme ocean conditions.
The search was suspended after nightfall, but will resume in the morning, Golden Gate NPS reported.
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