Heartbreaking moment orphaned toddler reaches out for his parents who drowned on Maui snorkeling trip
A baby boy has been left with nothing but photos of his young parents after his family revealed details of how the couple died while snorkeling on the first day of their babymoon in Hawaii.
Sophia Tsaruk, 26, was 30 weeks pregnant with baby Logan’s younger sister when she swam in the waters off Ahihi-Kinau on Saturday morning.
Moments later, she and her husband, Ilya, 25, were pulled from the water by rescuers, who struggled to save their lives before being pronounced dead on the shore.
“The water was calm, there were no unusual weather conditions or anything,” said Ilya’s sister, Taisiya Tsaruk, who accompanied them on the trip to Maui, told KITV.
‘We thought we were in a good position. What can happen now?’
Eighteen-month-old Logan is staying with relatives after both his parents drowned
Ilya and Sophia Tsaruk of Snohomish, Washington with their son Logan
The couple from Snohomish, Washington had just purchased a new home and traveled to the Hawaiian island to celebrate Sophia’s pregnancy.
Tiasiya joined them, along with her husband Anatoliy and another couple, and all six headed to the beach on the west side of the island for the first full day of their vacation.
Sophia, 26, was not a good swimmer and said she felt a little sick as she donned snorkel masks and waded through the unguarded water.
The group split up to explore the seabed, until another swimmer approached Tiasiya and told her he had heard screams in the water.
At 12:02 p.m., emergency services were called and a rescuer on a jet ski found Sophia floating unconscious in the water and brought her to shore.
Then the emergency services started looking for Ilya again. He was already out of sight before divers found him on the seabed, more than 100 meters from the beach.
A bystander filmed the rescuers’ desperate attempts to resuscitate the couple as their shocked relatives looked on.
Taisiya believes the snorkel masks the couple were wearing played a role in their deaths.
Ilya’s brother, Anatoily, and his wife, Taisiya, had joined the couple for the trip to Maui
Rescuers desperately tried to resuscitate the young parents after they were pulled from the water
The group snorkeled in the unguarded waters at the Ahihi-Kinua Nature Reserve in west Maui (Photo: Ahihi-Kinua Nature Reserve)
The couple were devout churchgoers and both sang in their worship group’s choir
“When we were in the water, I started having shortness of breath, like I couldn’t breathe,” she told KITV.
‘I felt like the mask was suffocating me and I had to tear it off to breathe.
‘They both drowned, but she had her mask on, I don’t know.
“I do think it played a role. Because like I said, I had difficulty breathing in the mask and we were wearing the same masks.”
Social media in Hawaii is abuzz with reactions from shocked residents, warning of the dangers snorkel masks can pose to inexperienced users if the exhaled air is not properly vented.
“There have been multiple drownings due to these masks,” wrote Kristina Lopez-Mata. “They need to ban them, it’s an ongoing problem here.
“Everyone who lives here knows not to use them.”
The investigation into the tragedy is ongoing and Anatoliy said he is not convinced the masks were fatal.
“We don’t think she choked on the mask,” he said.
“It could have just played a role in scaring her and making her panic. Everything is just speculation at this point.”
Eighteen-month-old Logan is staying with an aunt and uncle. GoFundMe The campaign to raise money for the child and bring his parents home has exceeded its $100,000 goal since it launched on Sunday.
“He is never alone for a moment,” said Sophia’s older sister, Ilona Tsymbalyuk.
“Everyone wants to hold him all the time, because they still have a little bit of him and her left in him.”
The couple had just purchased a new home for their growing family
“They were so excited about life and what it would bring them,” said Ilya’s sister, Taisiya Tsaruk
“Her birthday is the day after Christmas,” the sister added.
She kept talking about how on her birthday she would give birth to the girl she dreamed of.
“They wanted to call her Melody because they could both sing.”
Home videos have surfaced of Sophia leading her church choir in a solo, and GoFundMe organizer Andrey Tupikov said the young mother had “the voice of an angel”
“The Kovalevich and Tsaruk families are in mourning today and this pain will not go away soon, but we continue to pray and lean on the Lord,” he wrote.
“We are blessed to have had them both in our lives and cherish the wonderful memories and moments we shared with them.”
Taisiya said the couple was thrilled at the thought of a little sister for little Logan.
“They were getting the nursery ready for her,” she added.
“They were so excited about life and what it would bring them.”