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Two Students SWEPT Away While Sleeping | Current Headlines Two Students SWEPT Away While Sleeping Two young college students lost their lives after powerful waves swept them into the Pacific Ocean while they slept near a dangerous coastal access point in Santa Cruz County, California. The victims, both 21 and 20 years old, were caught off guard by rising tides at a location that has claimed multiple victims in recent weeks. Sleeping Students Caught By Incoming Tide Harshita Nair, 21, and Mahial Sran, 20, both from Fremont, were believed to be napping near the Keyhole on Wednesday afternoon when incoming tides pulled them into the water. The Keyhole is a natural archway that provides access to Yellow Bank Beach, an area known for catching people unaware. Santa Cruz County Volunteer Fire Captain Kyle Breton confirmed that both women were sleeping at this exact location when the tides came in and swept them out to sea without warning. A witness called 911 after seeing the incident unfold. Emergency crews launched a massive multi-agency rescue operation involving CAL FIRE, state lifeguards, and local fire departments. Eight rescue swimmers entered the rough surf to search for the vict…

2 Bay Area students die after getting trapped on Santa Cruz beach - SFGATE Search and rescue teams were deployed quickly to retrieve the bodies of two college students who were swept out to sea in Santa Cruz, Calif., on June 10, 2026. Cal Fire Two Bay Area college students who were swept into the ocean while sleeping near a secluded Santa Cruz County beach have died, authorities confirmed Monday. The victims, identified by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office as Harshita Nair, 21, and Mahial Sran, 20, were both Fremont residents and graduated from Washington High School in 2023. Advertisement Article continues below this ad “I can confirm both victims from last week’s water rescue have died,” sheriff’s office spokesperson Ashley Keehn told SFGATE via email. Sran was pursuing a public health degree at San José State University and was also on track to graduate in 2027. Nair was a legal studies student at UC Berkeley who was expected to graduate in 2027. “It is with immense sadness that we have learned that a UC Berkeley student, Harshita Nair, has passed away,” Adam Ratliff, a spokesperson for the UC Berkeley Division of Student Affairs, said in a statement to SFGATE. “We wish to…

2 Bay Area college students dead after being swept into ocean at Santa ... SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) --Two Bay Area college students died after being swept into the ocean in Santa Cruz County last week, according to authorities and family members. Mahial Sran, 20, a San Jose State University student, and Harshita Nair, who attended UC Berkeley, were pulled into the water along the coast, officials said. "We put eight rescue swimmers in the water, and we had a number of people up on the banks observing and helping to point out where the people were and assist with efforts," said Santa Cruz County Fire Capt. Kyle Breton. Rescue swimmers brought both Sran and Nair to shore, but both later died, officials said. MORE:Man missing after being swept into ocean off Big Sur coast ID'd as US Army specialist Early reports suggested the two may have been sleeping along the beach when they were pulled into the water, but a witness told authorities that was not the case. Sran's father said Monday night that his daughter's bag and phone never got wet, leading him to believe they were near the water and then struck by a wave. Breton said changing tide conditions in the area may have contributed to…

Two Bay Area College Students Die After Being Swept Out to Sea at Santa ... A Coast Guard helicopter surveys Panther Beach on June 10, 2026, where Nair and Sran were swept into the ocean by a sneaker wave. Both were rescued alive but later died. (CAL FIRE CZU) Two young women from Fremont, California died last week after being swept into the ocean along a stretch of Santa Cruz County coastline that authorities say has seen a dramatic and troubling spike in rescues. The deaths have drawn new attention to a category of ocean hazard — the sneaker wave — that kills people on the West Coast every year, often at beaches that look calm and inviting right up until the moment a wave arrives. Harshita Nair, 21, a UC Berkeley student studying legal studies, died shortly after being rescued on June 10. Mahial Sran, 20, a San José State University student pursuing public health and psychology, died two days later on June 13. The two friends had grown up together and graduated from Washington High School in Fremont in 2023. Both were expected to graduate college in 2027. They were at Bonny Doon Beach in Santa Cruz County on June 10 when the ocean took them. The Keyhole and the Tide The geograph…

Two college friends die after being swept out to sea while ... - UNILAD Home > News > US News Published 19:06 16 Jun 2026 GMT+1 Two college friends die after being swept out to sea while napping at beach The incident marks the fifth rescue in the space of a month along a one-mile stretch of coastline in California Poppy Bilderbeck Follow us on Google Discover Featured Image Credit: Facebook/ CAL FIRE CZU San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit Topics: US News , California , Facebook Poppy Bilderbeck Poppy Bilderbeck is a freelance journalist with words in Daily Express, Cosmopolitan UK, LADbible, UNILAD and Tyla. She is a former Senior Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from The University of Manchester in 2021 with a First in English Literature and Drama, where alongside her studies she was Editor-in-Chief of The Tab Manchester. Poppy is most comfortable when chatting about all things mental health, is proving a drama degree is far from useless by watching and reviewing as many TV shows and films as possible.

Two California students swept out to sea and drowned while napping on beach <p>Friends Harshita Nair, 21, and Mahial Sran, 20, were pulled out of water by rescue crews but died later at local hospitals</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/feb/17/sign-up-for-the-breaking-news-us-email-to-get-newsletter-alerts-direct-to-your-inbox?utm_medium=ACQUISITIONS_STANDFIRST&amp;utm_campaign=BN22326&amp;utm_content=signup&amp;utm_term=standfirst&amp;utm_source=GUARDIAN_WEB">Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email</a><em> </em></p></li></ul><p>Two college students died after being swept out to sea from a Santa Cruz beach as massive waves and dangerous rip currents inundated the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/california">California</a> coastline in recent days.</p><p>Authorities confirmed this week that Harshita Nair, 21, and Mahial Sran, 20, were killed after the sudden swell at a Santa Cruz beach last Wednesday. Nair died last week while Sran died in a local hospital on Sunday.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/17/california-students-drowned-santa-cruz">Continue reading...</a>

2 college students dead after being swept into ocean in California ... SAN FRANCISCO --Two California college students died after being swept into the ocean in Santa Cruz County last week, according to authorities and family members. Mahial Sran, 20, a San Jose State University student, and Harshita Nair, who attended UC Berkeley, were pulled into the water along the coast, officials said. "We put eight rescue swimmers in the water, and we had a number of people up on the banks observing and helping to point out where the people were and assist with efforts," said Santa Cruz County Fire Capt. Kyle Breton. Rescue swimmers brought both Sran and Nair to shore, but both later died, officials said. Early reports suggested the two may have been sleeping along the beach when they were pulled into the water, but a witness told authorities that was not the case. Sran's father said Monday night that his daughter's bag and phone never got wet, leading him to believe they were near the water and then struck by a wave. Breton said changing tide conditions in the area may have contributed to the incident. "So the tide had definitely come in, and one of the problems here is that. Panther a…

Horror as two college students napping on idyllic California beach are ... By ALEXANDER NOLL Published:12:45 EDT, 16 June 2026|Updated:07:34 EDT, 17 June 2026 384 Viewcomments Two college students have been killed after being swept off a Santa Cruz County beach and into the sea by rising tides. The victims were identified by Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office as Harshita Nair, 21, and Mahial Sran, 20, both from Fremont, California. The two women graduated together from Washington High School in 2023. Both were set to get their college degree in 2027, Nair in legal studies at UC Berkeley and Sran in public health and psychology at San José State University. Nair hoped to work in law and public service to directly help communities and expand their access to opportunity. At school, Sran was a member of the Public Health Peer Ambassadors club which hosts productivity workshops and social events to help public health students. It is believed that the two were napping near a keyhole when the waves swept them from the coastline of Bonny Doon beach last Wednesday. In a statement by County Volunteer Fire Captain Kyle Breton, he explained the keyhole is an area that often 'catche…

2 California women die after being swept out to sea while sleeping … article The Brief Harshita Nair, 21, and Mahial Sran, 20, died after being swept away during high tides in Santa Cruz County last week. Nair attended UC Berkeley. Sran attended SJSU. CalFire pointed out there is a certain "keyhole" section of the beach where people often sleep, which ends up trapping them there because of the high tide. SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif. - The coroner has identified two young Fremont women – both university students in the Bay Area – who died after they were swept out to sea in Santa Cruz County while sleeping on a sunny afternoon. Sleeping in ‘keyhole’ What we know: Harshita Nair, 21, and Mahial Sran, 20, had been taking a nap near a natural archway along a stretch of coastline between Yellow Bank Beach and Bonny Doon Beach on June 10 when they were swept into the water by rising tides, Cal Fire said. Witnesses said Sran and her friend Nair were at the beach and, by some accounts, were napping on the sand, when a large swell sucked them into the frigid water. "The swells are a result of storms in the Southern Hemisphere where it's winter," said Dr. Alison Bridger, a SJSU meteorologist an…