Two women from Fremont were killed after a rising tide swept them into the Pacific Ocean as they slept at a Northern California beach, authorities said.
Harshita Nair, 21, and Mahial Sran, 20, both residents of Fremont, were found unresponsive in the water near Panther Beach in Santa Cruz County on June 10, according to a statement from the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office to NTD News. Both were transported to a local hospital, where they later died.
The call came in around 5 p.m. when police and fire crews were sent to Panther Beach.
Around eight rescue swimmers entered the water at one point, Breton said. Crews managed to pull both women from the ocean—one was brought ashore at Yellow Bank Beach, the other at Panther Beach. A helicopter transported the first patient from Yellow Bank Beach up to the bluffs, where an AMR ambulance took her to a hospital. The second patient was hauled up a cliff in a Stokes basket to a waiting ambulance and also taken to a local hospital.
Investigators believe the two women had been asleep near an area known as "the keyhole"—a passage that connects Panther Beach to Yellow Bank Beach—when the tide came in and swept them into the surf.
"They swept out two sleeping patients," Breton said, adding that the area has repeatedly caught visitors off guard. "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, so it's an area that's catching people unaware."
Warnings Issued
As of Monday, the National Weather Service (NWS) San Francisco Bay Area office issued both a Beach Hazards Statement and a Coastal Flood Advisory effective through Wednesday night, warning of up to 1.8 feet of inundation above ground level in low-lying areas near shorelines and tidal waterways along Pacific Coast beaches. Sneaker waves remain a concern."Sneaker waves can sweep across the shoreline without warning, pulling people into the sea from rocks, jetties and beaches," the NWS advisory warned. "Remain out of the water to avoid hazardous surf and NEVER turn your back on the ocean."
Authorities in Santa Cruz are urging the public to heed posted warnings, never turn their back on the ocean, and be especially aware of changing tide conditions near passages and coves—particularly the keyhole area, which Breton said continues to catch visitors dangerously off guard.
"We want people to be aware," Breton said.