Two teens, ages 16 and 17, are presumed dead after they were swept out to sea while swimming in waist-deep water

Two high school classmates are presumed dead after they were swept out to sea by a rip current at a notoriously dangerous beach Saturday afternoon.

Wayne Ausa, 17, and Grisham Duran, 16, two students at Vallejo High School, went swimming with two other friends at San Francisco's Ocean Beach around 4pm when all five teens got caught in a rip current.

Authorities called off the search for Ausa and Duran just hours after the two teens were swept in a rip current

The boys reportedly had linked arms to wade out into waist-deep water when the strong current caught them by surprise.

The three other teens, a 17-year-old and two 18-year-olds, were able to swim back to shore but Ausa and Duran, weaker swimmers, did not make it.

The three other boys were taken to the hospital where they were last reported in stable condition.

Authorities called off the search for the two men at nightfall Saturday night, saying their bodies could be miles from shore based on the strength of the current.

The two boys were in the Engineering Academy at Vallejo High School. The school has organized a vigil for the victims next Saturday. 

'He's a good boy, and we are all very sad about what's happened,' Eloy Aquarin, who attended the same church as Duran, told KTVU.

'He's a good guy, he's really soft spoken, nice and polite.

'We pray hard, that's really all we can do to help, for the family, that hopefully there's a miracle,' Aquarin added.

Ocean Beach has signs warning about the deadly currents. One sign reads: 'People swimming and wading have drowned here.'



guardian