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A Coast Guard helicopter crew and the two men they rescued late Tuesday from a cave near Yachats. The two man became stranded after one was swept from the shore and the both were swept into a cave while attempting rescue.

(Courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard)

The U.S. Coast Guard late Tuesday rescued two beachgoers stranded in a cave south of Yachats.

Lincoln County fire officials received a call that one man fell into the water and another tried to rescue him when both were swept into a nearby cave. The agency alerted the Coast Guard, which dispatched a rescue helicopter.

The crew made three passes over the area but didn't see the men, Coast Guard officials said. Then an Oregon State Police trooper spotted them from a distance and helped direct the helicopter to the cave. A rescue swimmer was dropped into the area, which was whipped by 15 to 30 knot winds and seas of up to 8 feet.

The swimmer found the pair. Both were hypothermic; one was semi-conscious.

"When we saw a survivor peak his head out of the cave, the aircrew was overcome with relief but also an incredible sense of urgency," said Lt. Zach Wiest, aircraft commander stations in North Bend.

Wiest called the rescue "one of the most technically challenging case any of us has ever been part of."

-- The Oregonian