The families of the two Bay Area friends who were killed after a freak wave dragged them out to sea last week opened up about the tragedy as tributes to the two young women poured in.
College students Harshita Nair, 21, and Mahial Sran, 20, both of Fremont, died after a “sneaker wave” pulled them from a keyhole on Panther Beach in Santa Cruz County last Wednesday as dangerous swells battered the coastline.
The pair had made their way through the keyhole in Bonny Doon to sunbathe when the deadly wave sealed off their escape just before sunset, officials said.
Nair was a legal studies major at UC Berkeley set to graduate next year, while Sran was set to earn her degree in public health at San José State University in 2027.
Sran’s teenage brother, Aagman, described his big sister as a nurturing and responsible young woman who cared for him and all the people around her.
“She always took care of whatever needed to be done,” the 17-year-old told The California Post. “She always delivered.”
Aagman noted that Panther Beach is considered treacherous by locals.
“That specific part of the beach is known to be dangerous,” he said.
Both Nair and Sran graduated from Washington High School in Fremont in 2023.
The city’s mayor, Raj Salwan, said their “young lives were filled with promise” in a statement on his Facebook page Tuesday.
“Our Fremont community is heartbroken by the tragic loss,” he wrote. “My deepest condolences are with their families, friends, classmates, and everyone grieving this unimaginable loss.”
Salwan also urged residents to exercise caution at nearby beaches, as the California coast continues to be pounded by powerful southern ocean swells.
“Sneaker waves, strong currents, and rising tides can strike without warning,” Salwan said, adding: “Never turn your back on the ocean.”
Sran was also honored by officials at San Jose State University, where spokesman Michelle Smith McDonald said the “entire SJSU community shares in the grief felt by those who loved and cared for her.”
The death of Nair, who worked at UC Berkeley’s student union, caused “immense sadness” at the university, said spokeswoman Ellen Top.
Nair’s grieving father disputed initial reports that the women were napping when the wave dragged them out to sea.
“They weren’t sleeping there, because their bags were completely dry,” Ahock Nair told the Post of the victims’ totes, saying that if they had been asleep, the women wouldn’t be napping away from their belongings.
“If they were sleeping, their bags would also have gone along with them, or would have been completely wet,” he said.
In the days after the incident, fire officials reversed initial statements made that the women appeared to be sleeping when they were dragged into the ocean.
Nair’s online obituary described her as “a cherished sister, granddaughter, and a treasured friend to so many.”
“In her short but beautiful life, Harshita left an unforgettable mark on everyone fortunate enough to know her,” it read.
The women’s’ recovery marked the fifth water rescue first responders performed over the past month along short stretch of Santa Cruz County coastline, according to Cal Fire spokesman Michael Horn.
Less than 24 hours earlier, a killer wave pulled a five-year-old girl to her death at a beach in Laguna Beach.
