Woman swept into the sea at Salmon beach is identified – as her tragic history emerges
A mother who fled war-torn Ukraine to live in Australia has been swept off the cliffs in front of her shocked family during a beach visit.
Olya Tikhanova, 40, was on a week-long holiday with her husband and 14-year-old daughter when she brushed off rocks while taking a photo at Salmon Beach, near Esperance on WA’s south coast, on Saturday.
She was pulled from the water, but could not be saved.
Ms Tikhanova emigrated to Perth from the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia, one of the epicenters of the war between Russia and Ukraine.
The city has been bombarded by Russian missiles, with the most recent attack killing at least eight people last month.
Ms Tikhanova’s husband Vlad had secured a job as a welder at Alloy Steel International in Perth just days before Russia invaded in 2022.
He later brought over his wife and daughter, with Ms Tikhanova also securing a job at Alloy Steel, the newspaper said Western Australian.
Olya Loginova, a fellow Ukrainian expat living in Perth, said Ms Tikhanova was “impossible to forget”.
Olya Tikhanova (pictured), 40, was on a week-long holiday along the Washington coast with her husband and 14-year-old daughter when she snapped a photo at Salmon Beach, near Esperance, around 11am on Saturday, sweeping off the rocks
Ms Tikhanova emigrated to Perth from her home in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia, one of the epicenters of the war between Russia and Ukraine
“Her genuine smile, boundless energy and love of life touched all who had the privilege of knowing her,” she wrote.
‘She left behind a warmth that will always stay with us.
“Now her husband, Vlad, is preparing for the funeral while also caring for their daughter. The magnitude of this loss is unimaginable.”
A GoFundMe page has raised nearly $22,000 to date.
“Our light stopped shining and our lives became darker,” the page reads.
‘The overflowing flow of kindness, laughter, warmth, love and radiance stopped.
“Without a doubt, those who were touched by her spirit will never forget her. Olya made those around her better, and her memory will keep it that way.”
Ms Tikhanova’s death followed that of 32-year-old tourist Faycal Al Saidi, who was also swept off the rocks at Salmon Beach in 2020.
His body was never found, but a 2022 inquest ruled that he had drowned.
Since the start of summer on December 1, there have been 44 drownings across Australia.