Lifeguard Lt. Rick Romero with San Diego Fire Rescue said a guard at the South Mission Tower saw the man and woman get washed off the rocks at the jetty around 6:30 p.m.
Lifeguards with San Diego Fire Rescue were injured Friday night coming to the aid of a pair of people who had gone to the end of the jetty to check out the waves.
Lifeguard Lt. Rick Romero with San Diego Fire Rescue said a guard at the South Mission Tower saw a man and woman get washed off the rocks at the jetty around 6:30 p.m.
"They walked out there to hang out and watch the surf, and, obviously, the surf comes in and surprised them, and they got knocked off their feet and suffered injuries by getting hit by the rocks, getting slammed on the jetty," Romero said.
When the lifeguard could not quickly locate them afterward, he called for a rescue boat and additional lifeguard resources.
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"So we sent rescuers via boat, jet ski and by actually walking out onto the jetty," Romero said. "We were able to locate both people and tried to extricate them out."
The woman was seriously injured — Romero said her status was "critical" — so lifeguards called in a helicopter to airlift her, since she was unconscious.
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"They were tranported back to our headquarters' landing zone, where we had medics staged, and then guards started to walk [back] got hit by waves," Romero said.
Four of the rescuers who were coming back to the beach on foot on the jetty were then injured themselves. All six of those injured were taken to local hospitals, according to Romero.
"We had really high surf: 8-plus foot on the jetty," Romero said. "It's very treacherous. a lot of wind, and we're just making sure our staff members get all the treatment right now."
Fortunately, the lifeguards' injuries were not severe; Romero described them as cuts and abrasions.
The lieutenant had a simple piece of advice to keep people safe in similar situations: As a general rule, if the rocks are wet, stay back.
