Two College Students Die After Being Swept From Bonny Doon ‘Keyhole’

Overview

• Rescue teams recovered Harshita Nair, 21, and Mahial Sran, 20, after both were swept into the ocean at Bonny Doon; the incident occurred on June 10 and both were later confirmed dead by local authorities.
• Emergency crews from the Santa Cruz County fire service and California state parks deployed multiple rescue swimmers and found the women near Yellow Bank and Panther Beach before they were taken to local hospitals.
• Officials say the victims had been near a narrow cliff opening known locally as the “keyhole,” where a rising tide can cut off the only escape route and strand people on a slim sand shelf.
• The National Weather Service linked the event to a long‑period swell that favors powerful rip currents and sudden large waves, and authorities say this was one of several rescues along the 1.6 km Yellow Bank–Bonny Doon corridor in recent weeks.
• Local agencies have renewed safety warnings to keep distance from cliff openings and shore structures, avoid turning your back to the ocean, and heed tide advisories as communities and the victims’ schools respond to the losses.