On Tuesday night, two Horry County sheriffs were transporting two mental-health patients to medical facilities in Florence and Darlington when floodwaters overtook the van and carried it off of the road, the department said in a statement. “Despite persistent and ongoing efforts,” the statement from the sheriff’s office reads, “floodwater rose rapidly and the deputies were unable to open the doors to reach the individuals inside the van.”

The Horry County Sheriff Office has yet to respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment. The van was traveling in the area of the Little Pee Dee River, which CBS News says is a body of water officials in South Carolina have been keeping watch on for flooding following the heavy rains of Florence. The Horry County Sheriff’s Office described the women as detainees, although a county coroner told the Associated Press they were mental-health patients — Windy Wenton, 45, and Nicolette Green, 43 — being transported to a facility farther inland. The deputies were rescued and by a high water rescue team from the top of the van and transported to a local hospital, local TV station WLOS reported. “Just like you, we have questions we want answered.”

More headaches as Florence’s waters overtake toxic pits and hog lagoons

‘We need help’: N.C. towns plead for dam, levee upgrades after second major flood in two years

After Florence, North Carolina grapples with floods, outages and endless water
The death toll rises to 37 after two mental health patients died when the police van in which they were being transported got caught in floodwaters.