Couple expecting baby die after being swept out to sea by wave while taking photo on coastal rocks

A couple expecting a baby died after being hit by a freak wave and swept out to sea.

Pedro David Guadarrama Ceron, 30, of San Jose, and Emma Nelly Diazleal Lopez, 33, of San Jose, had stopped to take a picture on the coast on West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz on July 16 when they were hit by the wave at around 6:18 p.m., 911 callers told dispatchers. Tragically, Lopez was pregnant when she died. The couple were later found face down in the wate.

The Santa Cruz Fire Department said Lopez and Ceron were found by lifeguards and SCFD rescue swimmers who swam out to them. The victims were pulled onto a harbor patrol boat. Fire officials wrote: "Two rescue swimmers from Santa Cruz Fire and two Santa Cruz City Lifeguards quickly entered the water and made access to both victims, swimming them out to the awaiting Harbor Patrol Rescue Boat. Advanced life support measures were immediately initiated as the victims were assisted on board the vessel and directed towards the Harbor. Despite uninterrupted resuscitative efforts, both victims succumbed to the elements and could not be resuscitated.

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Beach-goers have been warned by the Santa Cruz PD to be aware of ocean conditions while on the coast, adding: "Never turn your back on the ocean and be aware of tidal conditions. Certain southerly swells and rising tides can produce ‘sneaker waves’ that can catch unaware citizens off-guard."

Earlier this month, a young woman miraculously survived for 36 hours after being swept out to sea - before she was rescued by a cargo ship.

The woman, who was not named, somehow survived after drifting 50 miles in the Pacific Ocean while on a rubber ring. The local coast guarded launched a search operation after she disappeared while swimming at Shirahama Ohama beach on Monday at about 7.30pm, about 125 miles southwest of Tokyo.

According to experts, she was likely swept out to sea by a current, with a evening seaward wind from the mountains making it worse. On Wednesday, she was spotted potted floating off the southern tip of Boso peninsula by a cargo ship.

The cargo ship asked a passing LPG tanker, the Kakuwa Maru No. 8, to help. Two of its crew members jumped into the sea and rescued the woman, officials said. She was airlifted by a coast guard helicopter to land.