2 children were killed when a hillside collapsed along a Northern California river

SHASTA LAKE, California — Two children were killed when a hill collapsed along a river in Northern California, which was hit by a series of winter storms.

The Shasta County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that the two victims were trapped in debris and fell from the hill Thursday morning near an off-road vehicle recreation area downstream of the Shasta Dam.

The names of the youths were not immediately released.

Numerous first responders, including the sheriff’s dive team, rushed to the crash site, about 200 miles (322 kilometers) north of San Francisco, around 9 a.m., the statement said.

Dam operators temporarily reduced water releases from the dam, and both victims were found in the rubble. They were pronounced dead at the scene, the office said.

It was not clear whether the victims fell into the water, as initial reports in local media indicated. Calls to a sheriff’s spokesman were not immediately returned Friday.

The Sheriff’s Office said appropriate agencies are investigating the incident.