RIO VISTA, Calif. — Crews are searching for three men who are believed to be dead after vanishing in California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta while trying to rescue a child, authorities said.

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According to the Los Angeles Times, the incident occurred Sunday afternoon at Three Mile Slough off Brannan Island State Recreation Area in Sacramento County. Rio Vista Fire Department Battalion Chief Brandon Wilson said a grade school-age boy was struggling while swimming when the three men went into the water to try to save him, the newspaper reported. Although the boy was safely returned to the shore, a swift current apparently pulled the men underwater, Wilson said.

A Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office spokesman told KCRA-TV that deputies searched the area but were unable to find the men, identified by family members as Edwin Rivas, Edwin Perez and Danilo Solorzano.

“After exhausting all search efforts, deputies shifted their focus to a recovery,” the spokesman, Sgt. Rod Grassman, told KCRA.

Recovery efforts are ongoing for the men, who are presumed dead, according to KCRA and the Times.

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