{"id":704,"date":"2026-06-17T04:04:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T04:04:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\/?p=704"},"modified":"2026-06-17T04:04:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T04:04:08","slug":"2-bay-area-college-students-die-after-getting-trapped-on-santa-cruz-beach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\/?p=704","title":{"rendered":"2 Bay Area college students die after getting trapped on Santa Cruz beach"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Two Bay Area college students who were\u00a0swept into the ocean while sleeping near a secluded Santa Cruz County beach have died, authorities confirmed Monday.<\/p>

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The victims, identified by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff\u2019s Office as Harshita Nair, 21, and Mahial Sran, 20, were both Fremont residents and graduated from Washington High School in 2023.<\/p><\/div>

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\u201cI can confirm both victims from last week\u2019s water rescue have died,\u201d sheriff\u2019s office spokesperson Ashley Keehn told SFGATE via email. Sran was pursuing a public health degree at San Jos\u00e9 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.<\/p><\/div>

\u201cIt is with immense sadness that we have learned that a UC Berkeley student, Harshita Nair, has passed away,\u201d Adam Ratliff, a spokesperson for the UC Berkeley Division of Student Affairs, said in a statement to SFGATE. \u201cWe wish to extend our condolences to this student\u2019s family and friends.\u201d\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

San Jos\u00e9 State University also mourned Sran\u2019s death.<\/p><\/div>

\u201cWe extend our deepest sympathies to everyone affected by this tragic loss,\u201d university spokesperson Michelle Smith McDonald said in a statement provided to SFGATE. \u201cOur entire SJSU community shares in the grief felt by those who loved and cared for her.\u201d<\/p><\/div>

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The rescue unfolded last week near Bonny Doon Beach after emergency crews received reports of people in the water.<\/p><\/div>

\u201cBy the time we arrived at scene, it had been upgraded to two patients in the water,\u201d Kyle Breton, a volunteer fire captain for Santa Cruz County, said in a\u00a0video\u00a0posted to social media.<\/p><\/div>

Breton said rescue swimmers entered the water and managed to reach both victims.<\/p><\/div>

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\u201cRescue swimmers, or about eight of them, at one point were in the water,\u201d he said.<\/p><\/div>

One patient was brought ashore at Yellow Bank Beach, while the other was rescued at nearby Panther Beach. The Cal Fire Santa Clara Unit\u2019s\u00a0Alma Helitack Copter 614 transported one victim from the beach to waiting paramedics on the bluffs above, according to a department social media post.<\/p>

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The second victim was lifted from Panther Beach in a Stokes basket before being taken by ambulance to a hospital.\u00a0Breton said investigators believe the women had been sleeping near an area known locally as the \u201ckeyhole,\u201d a narrow coastal passage that can become dangerous when tides rise.<\/p><\/div>

\u201cThe tides come in, and in this case, they swept out two sleeping patients,\u201d Breton said.<\/p><\/div>

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