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The two friends killed after being swept into the ocean in Santa Cruz County became trapped by a freak wave and pulled underwater by the punishing surf, authorities revealed — as a rescuer detailed the treacherous conditions that claimed their lives.
Harshita Nair, 21, and Mahial Sran, 20, both of Fremont, had made their way through a keyhole at Panther Beach in Bonny Doon to sunbathe last Wednesday when they were sealed off from escape by “sneaker wave” just before sunset, officials said.
The rescue swimmer who brought Sran ashore told The California Post that he dove into the freezing, 6-foot shore break, along with his partner, to rescue the young woman. Nair had already been pulled from the waters off Yellow Bluff Beach.
“We go through that keyhole, and there’s waves crashing through it,” said the swimmer, who asked to remain anonymous. “And then me and my partner, we start searching for the second victim.”
The pair were the latest victims of the horrifying swells that just twenty-four hours earlier claimed the life of a small girl at Laguna Beach, the local sheriff-coroner’s office said.
Soon, the swimmer said, he saw Sran floating face down in her bathing suit, about 20 yards offshore.
“I’m able to get her up on my chest and keep her airway out of the water, and my partner is able to swim over and clip in with me, and we just swim her in together,” he explained.
Both women were alive when they were pulled from the water.
Nair died soon after the rescue, while Sran remained at a local hospital in critical condition until Saturday, when she passed away, according to the Santa Cruz Sheriff-Coroner.
Authorities have yet to officially determine their cause and manner of death.
Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to the beach after a witness called 911 just after 5 p.m. Wednesday, officials said.
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.
The cove they visited is a popular sunbathing spot that was still being visited by beachgoers on Tuesday, though a warning sign had been installed advising of a “risk of becoming trapped.”
Cal Fire spokesman Michael Horn said about eight rescue swimmers entered the dangerous ocean water to try to rescue the victims.
He described Wednesday’s operation as the fifth water rescue that first responders performed over the past month along short stretch of Santa Cruz County coastline.
Rising tides and crashing waves trapped the two friends, who at first had been believed to be napping on the beach when they were swept away, Horn said.
“Their access back down the beach had been completely cut off by water and large surf,” he said.
The incident came a day after 5-year-old Amada Mia Brown of San Bernardino was swept into the ocean in Laguna Beach.
LIttle Amada died after being caught in the powerful surf of Treasure Island Beach.
Sran, who worked part-time as a cashier for the Micheal Kors Outlet at Great Mall in Milpitas, 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.
Steve Parkinson, a friend and former coworker of Nair, said the Berkeley undergrad was a lover of the outdoors.
“She was just a real smart girl, outgoing girl,” Parkinson said. “Just a real all-around good person.”
Dangerous conditions along the California coast in recent days have driven by powerful southern swells that have slammed Pacific Ocean beaches, according to officials with the National Weather Service.
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office issued a warning for the area after responding to an increased number of water rescues.
“This beach is a really dangerous beach up north, and it has that keyhole spot that creates a really big hazard,” said the rescue swimmer who recovered Sran. “Look at the tides and look at the swell. If you don’t know any of that stuff well, just stay out of the water.”
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