SANTA CRUZ — Three workers inspecting the Santa Cruz Wharf fell into the choppy ocean waves and had to be rescued after part of the structure collapsed Monday, said city officials who fear the next storm could cause more damage. Two of the victims were rescued from the waters by lifeguards and a third self-rescued, officials said.

Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley reiterated in a news conference that in the coming days, the city’s focus will remain on the immediate response and cleanup effort. However, he added, the city

Santa Cruz’s wharf partially collapsed Monday as a powerful storm battered a central California beach, sweeping three people out to sea. Dramatic footage and images showed a restroom building toppled by waves on the beach,

The famed Santa Cruz Wharf on the California coast will remain indefinitely closed until further notice after part collapsed this week with city leaders fearing for its future due to growing effects of climate change.

A section of a pier in Santa Cruz, California, collapsed into the Pacific Ocean on Monday after high surf hit the coast, sending three city workers into the water. The Wharf, a bustling public pier in Santa Cruz,

Powerful seas fueled by recent storms, a wharf more than a century old battered by hundreds of storms, and a construction zone combined for a “perfect situation” that led to the partial collapse of the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf on Monday,

Heavy surf destroyed a portion of Santa Cruz Wharf on Monday afternoon, sending three city works into the water. All three people were rescued shortly after.

The collapse occurred at 12:45 p.m. PT on Monday "as the result of very strong waves crashing into it," Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley said.

A witness, just 20 yards away, recounted the moments when several massive waves slammed into the pilings of the Santa Cruz Wharf, sending the end of the wharf and three people into the ocean.