Young parents to an 18-month-old son and an unborn baby girl, tragically drowned on Saturday while on vacation in Hawaii. Ilya and Sophia Tsaruk, residents of Washington, lost their lives in the waters off Maui while swimming during their trip to the tropical island, according to the local fire department and family members.
Their son Logan was staying with his aunt and uncle when the tragedy occurred. Maui firefighters and ocean rescue teams responded to a report of swimmers or snorkelers in trouble at the Ahihi-Kinau Natural Area Reserve shortly after noon, the department confirmed. Emergency responders found 26-year-old Sophia unresponsive and brought her to shore, where firefighters performed CPR.
Holiday Turns into Tragedy
According to Andrey Tupikov, who launched a GoFundMe to cover funeral costs and shared a picture of the couple with their son, Sophia was expecting a baby girl. Her Instagram profile image showed her tenderly holding her pregnant belly.
When rescuers arrived around midday, they found the 26-year-old woman unresponsive and pulled her from the water about 100 to 150 yards offshore.
Ilya was later found on the ocean floor and also brought to shore.
CPR was performed on both victims, but despite the rescue team's efforts, they were pronounced dead by Emergency Medical Services.
The fire department noted that the surf conditions were relatively calm, and the area was not known for strong currents.
However, the location where the couple was swimming was unguarded, with the closest lifeguard station located at Makena State Beach Park, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Fire Department spokesperson Chris Stankil suggested the couple may have been snorkeling based on where they were found, though he couldn't confirm it for certain.
Tributes Pour In
However, Stankil noted that the incident report does not indicate that the couple was found with any equipment when Ocean Safety officers recovered them.
In a tribute on the GoFundMe page, Tupikov shared that the couple were active members of their church. He described Sophia as having "the voice of an angel" and said that she and Ilya sang together in a church worship group.
"The Kovalevich and Tsaruk families are grieving today, and this pain will not pass soon, but we continue to pray and lean on the Lord," Tupikov wrote.
"We are blessed to have had both of them in our lives and are left now with the sweet memories and moments that we shared together with them."
The fundraiser has surpassed its $100,000 target, raising nearly $105,000 by Tuesday afternoon. According to Tupikov, the funds will be used to cover funeral costs and to transport the couple's bodies back to Washington.
