Heartbreaking moment orphaned toddler reaches out for his parents who drowned on Maui snorkeling trip
A little boy has been left with nothing but photographs of his young parents as the family revealed details about 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 being pulled out by first responders who battled to save their lives before they were declared dead on the shore.
'The water was calm, there no, like, out of the ordinary weather conditions or anything like that,' Ilya's sister, Taisiya Tsaruk, who accompanied them on the trip to Maui, told KITV.
'We thought we were good. What could possibly happen?'
Eighteen-month-old Logan is staying with relatives after both his parents drowned
Ilya and Sophia Tsaruk from Snohomish, Washington with their son Logan
The couple from Snohomish, Washington had just bought a new home and traveled to the Hawaiian island to celebrate Sophia's pregnancy.
Tiasiya joined them with her husband, Anatoliy, and another couple, and all six headed for the beach on the west of the island for the first full day of their vacation.
Sophia, 26, was not a strong swimmer and mentioned feeling slightly ill as they donned snorkel masks and waded into the unguarded waters.
The group split up to explore the sea-bed before another swimmer approached Tiasiya and told her he had heard screaming in the water.
First responders were called at 12:02pm and a responder a jet ski found Sophia floating unconscious in the water before bringing her to shore.
Emergency crews then headed back out to search for Ilya, who had disappeared from view before divers found him on the sea bed more than 100 yards from the beach.
An onlooker filmed the rescuers frantic attempts to resuscitate the couple as their horrified relatives looked on.
Taisiya believes the snorkel masks the couple were wearing may have played a part in their deaths.
Ilya's brother, Anatoily, and his wife, Taisiya, had joined the couple for the trip to Maui
First responders desperately tried to resuscitate the young parents after they were pulled from the water
The group was snorkeling in the unguarded waters off the Ahihi-Kinua nature reserve on the west of Maui (pictured: Ahihi-Kinua Nature Reserve)
The couple were devout church-goers and both sang in their worship group's choir
'When we were in the water I experienced a loss of breath like I could not breath,' she told KITV.
'I felt like the mask was just suffocating me and I had to rip my mask off to breathe.
'They both drowned, but she did have her mask on, which is, I don't know.
'I do believe that it played a role. Because, like I said, I experienced a loss of breath in the mask and we were wearing the same masks.'
Social media in Hawaii has lit up with comments from dismayed locals warning of the dangers snorkel masks pose to inexperienced users when exhaled air is not properly expelled.
'There have been multiple drownings due to these masks,' wrote Kristina Lopez-Mata. 'They need to ban them, it's an ongoing issue here.
'Anyone that lives here knows not to use them.'
The tragedy remains under investigation, and Anatoliy said he is not convinced that the masks proved fatal.
'We don't think that she suffocated in the mask,' he said.
'It might've just played a role in scaring her to panic. Everything is just speculation at this point.'
Eighteen-month-old Logan is staying with an aunt and uncle. A GoFundMe campaign to raise money for the child and to bring his parents back home has exceeded its $100,000 target since being launched on Sunday.
'There's just not a moment he's alone,' said Sophia's older sister, Ilona Tsymbalyuk.
'Everybody's constantly rotating wanting to hold him because they left a little bit of him and her in him.'
The couple had just bought a new home for their growing family
'They were so excited for life and what it was going to bring them next,' said Ilya's sister, Taisiya Tsaruk
'Her birthday is the day after Christmas,' the sister added.
'She was always talking about how she might deliver this baby girl that she was dreaming about on her birthday.
'They were planning to name her Melody because they both sang.'
Home video has emerged of Sophia leading her church choir during a solo, and the GoFundMe organizer, Andrey Tupikov, said the young mother 'had the voice of an angel'
'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,' he 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.'
Taisiya said the couple was thrilled at the thought of a baby sister for little Logan.
'They were prepping the baby room for her,' she added.
'They were so excited for life and what it was going to bring them next.'
