2 Women, 1 Man Dead After Being Swept Off Rocks Near Point Mugu
NEAR MALIBU (CBSLA) — Three people died after being swept off the rocks by a possible rogue wave while collecting mussels from a rock near Point Mugu Thursday evening, officials said.
Two women and a man were on the rocks off the Pacific Coast Highway and Deer Creek Road when a wave swept them into the ocean shortly before 5 p.m., according to authorities. Firefighters raced to the scene, pulled the three out of the water and performed CPR, but they all died at the scene.
"Unfortunately all three were fatally injured due to the incident," Capt. Brian McGrath, with the Ventura County Fire Department, said.
Investigators said family was with the victims just before they were pulled into the water.
"The weather conditions and the wave conditions are very similar to what you see now," McGrath said. "The waves were not abnormally large for the timeframe and the tide was as normal."
VCFD, along with the sheriff's department, brought out chaplains to help family members in shock over what they saw.
Though investigators believe the deaths were accidental, the Ventura County Sheriff's Department was still investigating.
The names of the victims, identified only as a husband and wife in their 50s and a grandparent in their 70s, have not been released.
