Authorities in Northern California recovered the bodies of three hikers who died after jumping into a waterfall in a remote area near Lake Tahoe in the United States.

The Placer County Sheriff’s Office announced the recovery Sunday.

The three men were part of a group of six that were hiking last Wednesday in the Soda Springs area, roughly 48km west of north Lake Tahoe, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

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Three of the men jumped into the water in an area known as Rattlesnake Falls and did not resurface, the sheriff’s office said.

The sheriff’s office was alerted of a possible triple drowning shortly before 3pm local time.

It responded with a dive team that was flown to the area via helicopter, according to the statement.

The remaining three hikers were airlifted out on Wednesday night, the sheriff’s office said, noting the area’s challenging terrain.

Search operations were suspended on Thursday afternoon because of powerful winds that prompted strong currents and poor underwater visibility.

The search was expected to resume on Sunday with better weather, the sheriff’s office said on Friday.

The sheriff’s office did not immediately provide additional information about where the men were found or how they died.