2 Bay Area college students die after getting trapped on Santa Cruz beach

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.

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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.

“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 extend our condolences to this student’s family and friends.” 

San José State University also mourned Sran’s death.

“We extend our deepest sympathies to everyone affected by this tragic loss,” university spokesperson Michelle Smith McDonald said in a statement provided to SFGATE. “Our entire SJSU community shares in the grief felt by those who loved and cared for her.”

The rescue unfolded last week near Bonny Doon Beach after emergency crews received reports of people in the water.

“By the time we arrived at scene, it had been upgraded to two patients in the water,” Kyle Breton, a volunteer fire captain for Santa Cruz County, said in a video posted to social media.

Breton said rescue swimmers entered the water and managed to reach both victims.

“Rescue swimmers, or about eight of them, at one point were in the water,” he said.

One patient was brought ashore at Yellow Bank Beach, while the other was rescued at nearby Panther Beach. The Cal Fire Santa Clara Unit’s Alma Helitack Copter 614 transported one victim from the beach to waiting paramedics on the bluffs above, according to a department social media post.

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The second victim was lifted from Panther Beach in a Stokes basket before being taken by ambulance to a hospital. Breton said investigators believe the women had been sleeping near an area known locally as the “keyhole,” a narrow coastal passage that can become dangerous when tides rise.

“The tides come in, and in this case, they swept out two sleeping patients,” Breton said.

The location has become a recurring concern for rescuers because visitors can reach Yellow Bank Beach through the opening but may later find themselves stranded when ocean conditions change.

Following the rescue, emergency personnel gathered for an after-action review, according to Cal Fire. The debrief was cut short when crews were dispatched to another water rescue within Santa Cruz’s city limits.

Officials have not released additional details about the circumstances surrounding the deaths.