The United States left the survivors of a recent boat strike to die at sea, formally abandoning search efforts Friday.

Their presumed deaths are the result of attacks by U.S. forces on three boats in the Pacific Ocean on December 30. After striking one vessel and killing three civilians, crew members of the other boats, according to U.S. Southern Command, “abandoned the other two vessels, jumping overboard and distancing themselves before follow-on engagements sank their respective vessels.”

The unspecified number of survivors who leapt into the Pacific faced nine-foot seas and 40-knot winds, Kenneth Wiese, a spokesperson for the Coast Guard Southwest District, told The Intercept.

The Coast Guard called off the search for those people on Friday citing a “declining probability of survival.” A U.S. government official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press, said the men are now presumed dead.