Mahial Sran and Harshita Nair, Fremont, California women identified as the two friends swept to their deaths while napping along infamous Bonny Doon Beach along Santa Cruz County after the area being pounded by recent rough swirl and dangerous currents.
Two friends napping on a stretch of beach in Santa Cruz County in the Bay area were swept to their deaths as dangerous waves battered the California coastline.
Harshita Nair, 21, and Mahial Sran, 20, both of Fremont, were identified as the victims at Bonny Doon Beach last Wednesday, the Santa Cruz County sheriff-coroner’s office confirmed.
Nair was a legal studies major at UC Berkely set to graduate in 2027. Sran was set to earn her degree in public health at San José State University in 2027. Both women graduated in 2023 from Washington High School in Fremont.
Two friends napping along infamous beach stretch caght off guard by freak waves
Officials believe the two women were napping near a keyhole on the notoriously dangerous beach when the tide came in and caught the two friends off guard and swept them out to sea according to the SFChronicle.
Both women were pulled out of the water by rescue crews and transported to the hospital, but they did not survive.
Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to the treacherous beach to rescue the women after a witness called 911 at about 5 p.m.
Santa Cruz County Volunteer Fire Captain Kyle Breton said about eight rescue swimmers entered the dangerous ocean water in a bid to save the victims.
The beach is known for being dangerous due to an extremely steep surf line with strong currents and rogue waves hitting.
Cause and manner of death yet to be officially determined
‘Both of these patients, we believe, were originally sleeping right at the keyhole, which is an area that we’re finding catches people unaware,’ Breton said according to the nypost.
Once rescued, one of the women, Sran, was transported by helicopter to Yellow Bank Beach atop the bluffs before being taken to a local hospital, said Breton.
Meanwhile, Nair was brought to Panther Beach and transported to a local hospital. She was later pronounced dead.
Sran remained at a local hospital in critical condition until Saturday,
Authorities have yet to officially determine their cause and manner of death.
Authorities said Wednesday’s rescue was the fifth water rescue the first-responders performed in the past month along the one-mile stretch of Santa Cruz County coastline between Yellow Bank Beach and Bonny Doon Beach.
Back to back tragedies amid rough California waters
The tragedy came a day after a San Bernardino 5-year-old Amada Mia Brown was swept into the ocean near Laguna Beach.
Amada died after being caught in the powerful surf that battered California’s coast for much of the last week. She was scheduled to begin kindergarten in the San Bernardino City Unified School District in August.
A coworker said Sran worked past-time as a cashier for the Micheal Kors Outlet at Great Mall in Milpitas.
‘It’s sensitive subject,’ said the coworker of Sran’s passing. Sran was also president of a public health club at her college, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Nair was an intern at the UC Berkeley student union, according to her LinkedIn profile. A former coworker said she worked at a UPS Store in Fremont until several months ago.
The dangerous water conditions along the California coast last week were being driven by a powerful southern swell that pounded beaches across the Pacific Ocean, according to officials with the National Weather Service.
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office issued a warning after responding to an increased number of water rescues over the past few weeks.
Breton said beachgoers in Santa Cruz are frequently caught unawares by the rising ocean.
‘What we’re also seeing is that people go through the keyhole to get to Yellow Bank Beach, and then they get trapped on Yellow Bank Beach because of the tides,’ he said.
