Two friends have been killed after being swept into the ocean in Santa Cruz County as dangerous waves battered the California coastline.

Harshita Nair, 21, and Mahial Sran, 20, both of Fremont, were identified as the victims at Bonny Doon Beach last Wednesday, the local sheriff-coroner’s office confirmed.

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.

They were understood to have been napping near a keyhole on the notoriously dangerous beach when the waves swept them out to sea.

Harshita Nair smiling at the camera.
Harshita Nair was a legal studies major at UC Berkely set to graduate in 2027.Linkedin

Nair’s grieving father told The Post on Monday he did not know what the friends were doing when tragedy struck. “I have no idea what happened,” said Ahock Nair of his daughter’s death. “I’m still in shock.”

Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to the treacherous beach to rescue the women after a witness called 911 at about 5 p.m.

Mahial Sran smiling at the camera.
Mahial Sran was set to earn her degree in public health at San José State University in 2027.Instagram/@mahial_22s
Santa Cruz County Volunteer Fire Captain Kyle Breton said about eight rescue swimmers entered the dangerous ocean water to extricate the victims.

The beach is known for being dangerous due to an extremely steep surf line with strong currents and rogue waves hitting.

“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.

Once rescued, one of the women was transported by helicopter to Yellow Bank Beach atop the bluffs before being taken to a local hospital, said Breton.

CAL FIRE Alma Helitack Copter 614 flying over a beach.
The old friends were napping on the shore when they were caught by a killer wave.Facebook/CALFIRECZUSanMateoSantaCruz
Meanwhile, the other woman was brought to Panther Beach, where she was carried in a stokes basket to an awaiting ambulance and transported to a local hospital.

Nair died soon after the rescue. Sran remained at a local hospital in critical condition until Saturday, according to the Santa Cruz Sheriff-Coroner. Authorities have yet to officially determine their cause and manner of death.

Authorities said Wednesday’s rescue was the fifth water rescue the first-responders performed in the past month along the one-mile stretch of Santa Cruz County coastline between Yellow Bank Beach and Bonny Doon Beach.

Rescue workers gathered by emergency vehicles for an after-action review.
Eight rescue swimmers enterred the water to recover the women.Facebook/CALFIRECZUSanMateoSantaCruz

Emergency crew running to a rescue, with a lifeguard in red carrying a rescue board.
Authorities issued a warning due to inceased beach emergencies in Santa Cruz.Facebook/CALFIRECZUSanMateoSantaCruz
The incident came a day after a San Bernardino 5-year-old Amada Mia Brown was swept into the ocean near Laguna Beach.

Amada died after being caught in the powerful surf that battered California’s coast for much of the last week. She was scheduled to begin kindergarten in the San Bernardino City Unified School District in August.

A saddened coworker said Sran worked past-time as a cashier for the Micheal Kors Outlet at Great Mall in Milpitas.

“It’s sensitive subject,” said the coworker of Sran’s passing. Sran was also president of a public health club at her college, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Amada Mia Brown, a 5-year-old girl, stands smiling at the camera, wearing a purple checkered shirt with a name tag.
The incident came a day after a San Bernardino 5-year-old Amada Mia Brown was swept into the ocean near Laguna Beach.Tatiana Puerta/gofundme

An electronic sign displaying "BEACH HAZARD BE SAFE" next to a road and the ocean in Santa Cruz County.
A powerful south swell created dangerous conditions at beaches across California.Facebook/SantaCruzSheriffsOffice
Nair was an intern at the UC Berkeley student union, according to her LinkedIn profile. A former coworker said she worked at a UPS Store in Fremont until several months ago.

The dangerous water conditions along the California coast last week were being driven by a powerful southern swell that rocked beaches across the Pacific Ocean, according to officials with the National Weather Service.

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office issued a warning after responding to an increased number of water rescues over the past few weeks.

Breton said beachgoers in Santa Cruz are frequently caught unawares by the rising ocean,

“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 of the tides,” he said.

SOURCE: https://nypost.com/2026/06/15/us-news/friends-killed-while-sleeping-on-santa-cruz-beach-along-highway-1/