HAMPTON, N.H. (AP) – Two men from Massachusetts died after being pulled into the Atlantic Ocean by a rip tide Monday evening in Hampton Beach, a popular tourist destination.

The men, ages 26 and 35, were pronounced dead at Exeter Hospital. An 11-year-old boy who also had been pulled from the water survived, police said.

The group was among about 10 people who were pulled out to sea in the undertow, but none of the others needed help getting out of the water.

Police gave no additional information about the names or hometowns of the victims.

WMUR-TV said the men were from Massachusetts, the older man from Marlboro, the other from Fitchburg. The station said the rescued boy was the son of the Marlboro man.

“There are some fatalities,” said Hampton Police Lt. Rich Sawyer.

Police said the swimmers had gone into restricted water after lifeguards went off duty a little before 6 p.m. The first two people were pulled from the water around 6:30 p.m.; the last was pulled around 40 minutes later.

“We felt that the situation should not have been this drastic,” said chief lifeguard Jim Donahue.

Donahue said rip tides have been especially severe this season because of strong storms in May.

“We’ve never had beach conditions like that before,” said lifeguard captain James DeLuca. “They were swimming in a bad area after the lifeguards went off duty.”

Numerous agencies, including the lifeguards, New Hampshire Marine Patrol, the fire department and Coast Guard worked to retrieve the victims.

Jerry Dobrov, 54, of Atkinson, said he was at the beach with his family. He left briefly to feed a parking meter and when he returned he saw ambulances and eight or nine lifeguards in the water looking for people.

Dobrov said he saw the head of an older man bobbing in the water.

Through the day, Dobrov said, lifeguards had been keeping swimmers from particular areas of the beach to avoid undertows.

“We came to see the fireworks. We got them,” he said.

The Marine Patrol was investigating the incident, police said.