A pregnant mother and her husband have reportedly drowned while on vacation in Hawaii, leaving their 18-month-old son orphaned.
Ilya Tsaruk, 25, and Sophia Tsaruk, 26, from the city of Snohomish near Seattle, were believed to have been swimming or snorkeling off the coast of the Ahihi-Kinau Natural Area Reserve in Maui before they drowned Saturday, the County of Maui Department of Fire and Public Safety told Fox News Digital.
Rescuers arrived at the scene around noon after the Maui Fire Department received a report of “swimmers/snorkelers in distress.”
WOMAN, CHILD, TORTOISE, CAT RESCUED FROM SAILBOAT OFFSHORE HAWAII
They first found the pregnant mother unresponsive in the water approximately 100 to 150 yards from shore and pulled her from the water. Rescuers went back in the water, where they found her husband on the ocean floor.
CPR was administered to both victims, but rescuers’ efforts were unsuccessful.
Both parents were pronounced dead at the scene.
1 DEAD, 2 MISSING AFTER TOURIST HELICOPTER CRASHES OFF COAST OF HAWAIIAN ISLAND
The fire department said the surf conditions were “mostly calm” that day.
Sophia was pregnant with a baby girl, and the young parents left behind an 18-month-old son, who was staying with his aunt and uncle during his parents’ tragic deaths, according to a fundraising page for the family.
“Ilya and Sophia both loved the Lord and were always serving in the church and serving people around them,” fundraising organizer Andrey Tupikov wrote. “Sophia had the voice of an angel, and together with Ilya, they sang in a worship group in their church.”
