The deaths come amid reports of hazardous ocean conditions in California
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/Woman-Dies-Swept-Out-to-Sea-Sleeping-Beach-cal-fire-czu-061526-pic1-AS-9538ad3ad553499daa2c1437c936eafb.jpg "CAL FIRE SCU Alma Helitack Copter 614 brought one patient from the beach to the bluffs.")
Credit: CAL FIRE CZU San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit Facebook
NEED TO KNOW
- Two women were killed after they were swept off a California beach last week amid strong waves and dangerous water conditions near the coast, officials said
- The pair were believed to have been sleeping on Panther Beach in Santa Cruz, Calif., on Wednesday, June 10, when the tide came up quickly
- Authorities across California have issued warnings about the dangerous beach conditions
Two women were killed last week after they were swept off a California beach amid strong waves and dangerous water conditions along the coast, authorities said.
The two women are thought to have been napping on Panther Beach in Santa Cruz on Wednesday, June 10, when the tide came up quickly, catching them off guard, Santa Cruz County Volunteer Fire Capt. Kyle Breton said in a statement shared by Cal Fire.
First responders with the Santa Cruz Fire Department, California State Parks and other local agencies were called to the scene just after 5 p.m. local time. They deployed approximately eight rescue swimmers, Breton said.
One woman was pulled from the water near Panther Beach and the other was located at nearby Yellow Bank Beach.
On Monday, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office confirmed to PEOPLE that both women — identified as 21-year-old Harshita Nair and Mahial Sran, 20, both of Fremont, Calif. — had died.
Credit: CAL FIRE CZU San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit Facebook
"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 X, referring to an entrance to the beach underneath a rock formation.
"The tides come in and, in this case, they swept out two sleeping patients, but what we're also seeing is that people go through the keyhole to get to Yellow Bank Beach and then get trapped ... because the tides come in," he explained.
One of the women was taken off of the beach and up to the bluffs via helicopter, Breton said, while the second was carried up in a Stokes basket, referring to a stretcher used by first responders.
They were both transported to local hospitals, where they later died.
Cal Fire said in its statement that the incident marked the fifth rescue the agency had performed in a month along a one-mile stretch of coastline near Santa Cruz.
Credit: CAL FIRE CZU San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit Facebook
The woman's death amid reports of hazardous ocean conditions wasn't the only recent one in the state.
On Thursday, June 11, 5-year-old Amada Mia Brown's body was located after she was swept out to sea while at an Orange County beach with her family.
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Officials said that Amada was last seen walking along Treasure Island Beach in Laguna Beach, Calif., before authorities received an emergency call about her being pulled into the water on the evening of Tuesday, June 9.
She was later found during an early-morning aerial survey of the coastline.
Authorities in the region have issued warnings about the dangerous beach conditions.
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office has also recommended California beachgoers never turn their backs on the ocean, watch out for so-called sneaker waves and changing surf conditions, learn how to recognize and respond to rip currents, swim only in areas staffed by lifeguards and keep children within arm's reach when near water.
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