Mother and child fighting for their lives after another monstrous California wave swallows them into ocean

By LAURA PARNABY, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 15:08, 19 June 2026 | Updated: 15:27, 19 June 2026 A mother and child have been rushed to hospital after a monstrous 'sneaker wave' swallowed them into the ocean off the California shore.  The pair, who have not yet been publicly identified, were swept out to sea close to Baker Beach in San Francisco on Thursday evening.  Authorities said they were caught in a sneaker wave - a sudden, disproportionately large wave that surges much farther up the beach than those preceding it.  The freak incident came just eight days after two college students were killed in another sneaker wave off the California coast.  Harshita Nair, 21, and Mahial Sran, 20, both from Fremont, died on June 10 after being caught in a 'rogue wave' on the beach close to Bonny Doon in Santa Cruz.  CalFire told the Daily Mail that their deaths marked the fifth water rescue they had responded to along the one-mile stretch of coastline in the past month alone. Baker Beach, where the mother and child were swept away, is located 80 miles north of this stretch.  The pair was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. The Daily Mail has requested information from the San Francisco Fire Department, who responded to the incident.  A mother and child have been rushed to hospital after a huge 'sneaker wave' swallowed them into the ocean off Baker Beach on Thursday. A stock image of Baker Beach is shown above The pair, who have not yet been identified, were swept into the sea close to Baker Beach in San Francisco on Thursday evening. Baker Beach is pictured above  Officials issued a beach hazard statement for coastal areas across Northern California this week.  It was originally set to expire on Thursday, but was extended through Sunday morning after adverse conditions persisted.  Forecasters and fire officials warned residents that sneaker waves can close in very quickly and without warning, while advising people to stay away from the shoreline. According to the National Weather Service, those unsafe conditions were generated by a long period swell, which can prompt strong rip currents.  Michael Horn, a spokesman for CalFire, explained why this season has been particularly treacherous for beach-goers in California.  'For the last week and a half, because of a couple of different large tropical storms in the Pacific, we've been experiencing really large waves,' he told the Daily Mail.  'That's not characteristic for this time of year. That's not something that anybody would know that's just a beach visitor a few times a season.  Harshita Nair, 21, a legal studies major at UC Berkeley, died close to the shore in Santa Cruz Mahial Sran, 20, a public health B.S. at San José State University, also died in the double horror The two friends were believed to be sleeping on Bonny Doon Beach in Santa Cruz, California 'This is not a time of year that you would routinely get huge surf. There are some very large waves recently.  'With that sort of storm surge, we've also been getting some much higher than normal tides, so that's been increasing the hazardous conditions on all of our beaches throughout the central coast of California.  'It's just a really good reminder that, no matter how educated you are on the ocean, you should never let your guard down. Never turn your back on the ocean.  'Check the tide charts, check what the ocean is doing, and heed the warnings.'  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.