Niamh Shackleton
A young boy has been left orphaned after a freak accident claimed the lives of both his parents.
Ilya and Sophia Tsaruk, who lived in Washington, were vacationing in Maui, Hawaii, earlier this month without their 18-month-old son Logan, who was staying with his aunt and uncle at the time.
On Saturday (September 14), Maui County Fire Department received news of a couple in distress in the water 'in the area along the north side of Ahihi-Kinau Natural Area Reserve' and arrived to find an unresponsive 26-year-old female who has since been identified as Sophia.
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Ilya, 25, was found shortly after and, while live saving measures were carried out by the emergency services on both parents, they were later pronounced dead.
“Resuscitation efforts proved to be unsuccessful, and both parties were pronounced deceased at the scene by EMS," the fire department said in a statement, as per PEOPLE.
Adding to the tragedy, Sophia had been pregnant at the time of her death and was carrying a little girl.
Fire Department spokesperson, Chris Stankil, went on to say at a press conference that it's believed the couple died as a result of a snorkelling accident, MailOnline reports. This is yet to be confirmed, however.
Family member Andrey Tupikov has set up a GoFundMe in the wake of the couple's untimely passing to pay for their funeral, with any additional donations going towards Logan's future now he's been left orphaned.
"Yesterday, we lost a dear sister and brother, daughter and son, and beautiful niece, but we know that heaven received and gained the three of them with open arms," Andrey wrote on the page.
"On September 14th, 2024, Ilya and Sophia Tsaruk tragically passed away together while on vacation in Maui. They were retrieved from the ocean by lifeguards who were unable to revive them after much effort.
"Sophia was pregnant with a baby girl, and they leave behind their 18-month-old baby, Logan, who was staying with his aunt and uncle at the time."
The post went on: "Ilya and Sophia both loved the Lord and were always serving in the church and serving people around them. Sophia had the voice of an angel, and together with Ilya, they sang in a worship group in their church."
The service is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, September 25.
At the time of writing, over $118,000 has been raised for the family.
Maui County Fire Department has been approached for comment on the matter.
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact The Compassionate Friends on (877) 969-0010.