Two people died Friday after they were swept out to sea in the cold waters off the Golden Gate Bridge.
The U.S. Coast Guard found the victims, an adult male and boy, between Point Bonita and the Marin Headlands. A Coast Guard rescue boat and a Tiburon fire boat responded to the call for help, but with the water temperature a cold 53 degrees, the man and boy did not survive.
Officials say three people were swept out by the waters at Lower Fisherman’s around 4 p.m. Only one family member made it back to shore.
“It appears that one subject was able to get out of the surf and make a 911 call who coordinated the rescue units to a more precise location,” Randy Lavasseur, Law Enforcement Deputy Chief with the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, said.
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A Tiburon fire crew headed to the area for training and the U.S. Coast Guard searched the cold water and found the pair 25 minutes later.
Locals call Lower Fisherman’s “Black Sands Beach.” Signs at the trail head warn of dangerous conditions. Park police say the picturesque spot turns dangerous quickly.
“If you look at the terrain right now, it’s very rocky, uneven, it’s slippery,” Lavasseur said. “If you go down into the water’s edge, the tides can move up and down and even before you know it your feet are up in water and you can be climbing rocks because that tide moves up so quickly.”
Investigators are still piecing together exactly how the incident happened.
