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.

Three people were rescued from the wharf. The powerful surf also fatally trapped a man under debris on a beach in Santa Cruz, the authorities said.

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.