Women Identified Who Were Swept Into Ocean And Died Near Santa Cruz: Cal Fire

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA — Two Fremont women who died after being swept into the ocean near a Santa Cruz sea cave last week were identified Tuesday by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office.

Harshita Nair, 21, a University of California, Berkeley student, was pronounced dead Thursday, authorities said. Mahial Sran, 20, a San Jose State University student, died Sunday.

Investigators believe Nair and Sran were sleeping near the opening of a sea cave, known as a keyhole, that leads to Yellow Bank Beach when rising tides swept them into the ocean Wednesday, according to the Sheriff's Office.

The incident happened Wednesday amid dangerous ocean conditions fueled by large swells generated by tropical storms in the Pacific.

Santa Cruz County Volunteer Fire Captain Kyle Breton said crews were initially dispatched to a report of one person in the water before learning a second victim had also been swept out to sea.

By the time rescuers arrived, the call had been upgraded to two people in the water.

"Rescue swimmers, or about eight of them, at one point were in the water," Breton said.

Both victims were rescued from the ocean. One was brought ashore at Yellow Bank Beach and the other at Panther Beach.

A Cal Fire helicopter transported one victim from Yellow Bank Beach to waiting paramedics, while the second was hauled up a cliff before being taken to a hospital, Breton said.

Officials said both victims had been sleeping near an area known as the keyhole when rising tides swept them into the water.

"We believe [they] were originally sleeping right at the keyhole, which is an area that we're finding catches people unaware," Breton said. "The tides come in, and in this case, they swept out two sleeping patients."

Breton said the same area has repeatedly created dangerous situations for beachgoers.

"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 the tides come in," he said.

Cal Fire CZU said the rescue was the fifth along the roughly one-mile stretch of coastline between Yellow Bank Beach and Bonny Doon Beach in the past month.

The response involved California State Parks lifeguard rescue swimmers, Santa Cruz City rescue swimmers, Central Fire District, Santa Cruz Fire Department, Santa Cruz County and the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office.

Officials urged visitors to be aware of changing ocean conditions and rising tides before heading to the coast.