Double drowning Saturday at Ahihi-Kinau Natural Area Reserve claims the lives of two visitors from Washington
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By The Maui News
WAILUKU – According to the County of Maui Department of Fire and Ocean Safety, two visitors from Washington state drowned while snorkeling "100-150 feet from shore."
The 25-year-old male, and 26-year-old female were reportedly swimming in mostly calm and minimal surf around 12 p.m. at the Ahihi-Kinau Natural Area Reserve in South Maui. Units responded to the report of swimmers/snorkelers in distress in the area on the north side of the Ahihi-Kinau Natural Area Reserve at 12:02 p.m.
Engine 14, Ladder 14, Rescue 10 aboard Air 1, Ocean Safety 14, Jet Ski 14, and the Battalion Chief responded to the incident before concluding at the scene at approximately 1:18 p.m.
"Jetski 14 located and recovered an unresponsive female in the water, took her to shore and began CPR," the press release on the incident reads. "Arriving firefighters took over care and JS 14 went back out on the water to locate the male reported to have been with her. He was located on the bottom and brought to shore, where CPR was begun on him as well."
According to Public Safety, resuscitation efforts proved to be unsuccessful and both parties were pronounced deceased at the scene by EMS.
A gofundme organized by Andrey Tupikov stated, "On September 14th, 2024, Ilya and Sophia Tsaruk tragically passed away together while on vacation in Maui. They were retrieved from the ocean by lifeguards who were unable to revive them after much effort. Sophia was pregnant with a baby girl, and they leave behind their 18-month-old baby, Logan, who was staying with his aunt and uncle at the time."
The family started the gofundme to help transport the deceased couple back home. In just under 24 hours, the page has raised $105,600 from 649 donations.