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Two women in South Carolina drowned when the vehicle in which they were transported was washed away by the floods caused by Hurricane Florence, confirmed the Horry County Sheriff's Office at ABC 4.
On Tuesday night, two Horry County sheriffs were transporting two mentally ill patients to medical facilities in Florence and Darlington when the water overtook the van and took it away, the department said in a statement. . The deputies tried to rescue the women, who were tied in chains, but they could not open the doors of the vehicle when the waters surged.
"Despite persistent and persistent efforts," says the sheriff's office statement, "the waters have risen rapidly and MPs have been unable to open the doors to reach the people inside the van."
The Horry County Sheriff's Office has not yet responded to PEOPLE's requests for comment.
Tuesday night, the van could not be recovered from the area. The Marion County Coroner identified the two patients as Windy Newton, 45, of Shallotte, North Carolina, and Nicolette Green, 43, of Myrtle Beach.
Floods of Hurricane Florence flood the city of Trenton
Steve Helber / AP / REX / Shutterstock
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The two deputies were then rescued by a rescue team on the high seas.
The van was traveling in the Little Pee Dee River area, which, according to CBS News, is a group of water officials in South Carolina that monitors the floods after heavy rains in Florence.
"We are currently working with the SCDNR to recover the vehicle," Horry County Sheriff Phillip Thompson said Wednesday morning. "Due to the dangerous conditions and rising water levels, additional search and rescue teams are arriving to assist in the recovery of the vehicle."
According to ABC 4, the two women may have been chained to the rear of the vehicle.
"Just like you, we have questions we want to answer," the department said on Tuesday. "We are cooperating fully with the State Law Enforcement Division to support their investigation of this event."
ASSOCIATED VIDEO: A three-month-old baby dies after falling from a tree in a mobile home during Hurricane Florence
The department is working with the State Law Enforcement Division to investigate the incident. There will also be two other investigations, including a traffic investigation and an internal investigation, they said.
Thompson says that the two MPs rescued have been placed on administrative leave.
Nearly 40 people died as a result of Hurricane Florence, according to the latest figures released by CBS News. Nearly 343,000 people are still without electricity in North Carolina.
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