Hurricane Florence after: 2 women in the sheriff's van; MPs saved, on administrative leave in Horry County, South Carolina

Authorities confirm that two mentally ill patients drowned when a van was swept into floodwaters in South Carolina, reports CBS subsidiary WLTX. Horry County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Brooke Holden said a sheriff's office van was carrying two Conway patients and two assistants to Darlington on Tuesday night when she was caught in the water. MPs were put on administrative leave Wednesday, said the sheriff's office.

The two victims were originally reported to be inmates, but officials said they were patients in neighboring psychiatric hospitals.

Authorities say the van was near the Little Pee Dee River, one of South Carolina's water bodies is closely monitoring the water continues to flow to the state of North Carolina after the heavy rains of Florence.

Marion County Coroner, Jerry Richardson, confirmed to AP earlier Tuesday that two women had died in the incident. Their names have not been revealed.

Holden says MPs tried to get patients out of mental health but could not open the doors. The rescue teams on the high seas snatched the deputies from the top of the van.

"Tonight's incident is a tragedy, and like you, we have questions we want to answer," said Horry County Sheriff Phillip Thompson in the written statement. "We are cooperating fully with the State Law Enforcement Division to support their investigation of this event."

Later, Thompson announced that the two deputies involved in the incident had been placed on administrative leave.

WLTX reports that the two deputies transported the two patients to McLeod Behavorial Health in Darlington. One of the patients came from Waccamaw Mental Health and the other from Loris Hospital.

The incident is currently under investigation by the State Law Enforcement Division.

Forecasters predict that some rivers in the northeast of the state may not reach peak levels before the end of the week or next week.