El Salvador ? Unusually high Pacific waves battered beaches from El Salvador to Mexico and carried people out to sea, prompting authorities in some places to order swimmers out of the water Tuesday. At least two people were killed.

Waves topping 10 feet swept away a dozen swimmers Monday near La Libertad, 10 of whom were plucked from the water by boats and a helicopter, Green Cross emergency worker Jose Larin said. A 35-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy were killed.

El Salvador’s government advised people “to avoid swimming at our beaches due to the risk,” Interior Minister Miguel Bolanos said Tuesday.

The large waves may be the result of swells generated last week by a powerful storm thousands of miles away off the western coast of South America, said U.S. National Weather Service meteorologist Dennis Feltgen.