Second Woman Dies After Being Swept Out to Sea at Dangerous California Beach

The second woman who was swept into the ocean while napping at Bonny Doon Beach in Santa Cruz County during dangerous waves has died, the local sheriff-coroner’s office confirmed Monday.

Authorities believe that the two friends, Harshita Nair, 21, and Mahial Sran, 20, both from Fremont, California, were resting near a keyhole formation at the notoriously hazardous beach on June 10 when large waves swept them into the ocean.

The pair graduated from Washington High School in Fremont in 2023, according to the New York Post. Nair was a UC Berkeley legal studies student set to graduate in 2027, and Sran was a San José State University public health student expected to graduate in 2027.

Nair’s father told the NYP he did not know what the friends were doing when the tragedy occurred.

“I have no idea what happened,” Ahock Nair told the outlet. “I’m still in shock.”

Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to the beach after a witness called 911 around 5 p.m. on June 10. About eight rescue swimmers entered the dangerous waters, according to Santa Cruz County Volunteer Fire Captain Kyle Breton, but the area is known for hazardous conditions, including steep surf, strong currents and rogue waves.

“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 in a video posted to Facebook on the day of the incident.

After being rescued, one woman was airlifted to Yellow Bank Beach before being taken to a hospital, while the other was carried to Panther Beach and transported by ambulance. Nair died shortly after the rescue, and Sran remained in critical condition until Saturday, the Santa Cruz sheriff-coroner told the NYP.

Authorities have not yet determined the official cause and manner of death.

The June 10 incident was the fifth rescue Cal Fire has carried out in the past month along a one-mile stretch of coastline between Yellow Bank Beach and Bonny Doon Beach, officials said in a Facebook post. It also came just days after the death of 5-year-old Amada Mia Brown, who was swept into the ocean at Laguna Beach during high surf and was found two days after she went missing.

In Newport Beach, the powerful swell produced historic 20-foot waves at the Wedge, leading to more than 100 lifeguard rescues in a week, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Although wave heights peaked on June 10, a beach hazard statement remains in effect across Southern California through the evening of June 15, according to the National Weather Service. Forecasters warned that dangerous rip currents and elevated surf of 3 to 6 feet would continue, keeping conditions hazardous along the shoreline.

The swell also significantly increased the risk of drowning, as waves can knock people off beaches or rocks and capsize small boats. Minor coastal flooding is also possible in low-lying areas due to high astronomical tides expected to reach 7.5 to 7.9 feet each evening through June 15.