Two surfers pushed into a cliffside cove just north of Cannon Beach were rescued Saturday by a U.S. Coast Guard crew using a helicopter and a 150-foot-long hoist.

The surfers declined medical care and were released.

The incident began just before noon when the Columbia River Command Center received a distress notification. The helicopter was launched, and the rescue took about 30 minutes.

--Tom Hallman Jr.

thallman@oregonian.com; 503 221-8224

@thallmanjr