The family of a Washington State couple is devastated after the pair drowned on a Hawaii vacation. Sophia Kovalevich, 26, and Ilya Tsaruk, 25, died while on the first full day of their babymoon in Maui. The couple was snorkeling when tragedy struck. Kovalevich was 30 weeks pregnant with a daughter, Melody, and they leave behind an 18-month-old son.
The family spoke with KITV and said they didn’t understand what happened. They told the news station everything seemed perfect, and no one expected the devastating end. “We thought we were good,” said sister-in-law Taisiya Tsaruk.
Now, they’re grappling with the tragic deaths and how to care for Logan.
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The husband and wife were vacationing with two other couples.
Sophia, and Ilya (known by loved ones as Billy) were snorkeling with two other couples on the first day of their vacation, according to KITV. Billy’s brother and his wife joined them on the trip. Taisiya Tsaruk told KITV the water was calm, and the weather conditions were normal. She said no one expected the pair to have any trouble in the water.
“What could possibly happen?” she asked rhetorically.
The couples were equipped with full-face snorkel masks.
They apparently ran into trouble, and four people rerouted to shore, but Sophia and Billy did not. Taisiya Tsaruk told KITV she felt like she couldn’t breathe while she was in the water and at times, she felt as if the mask was “suffocating” her. At one point, she ripped off the mask to get help.
Sophia was reportedly still wearing her mask at the time of her rescue.
Taisiya Tsaruk told KITV that Sophia and Billy drowned, and Sophia was wearing her mask at the time of her rescue. “I do believe that it did play a role,” she said.
“We don’t think that she suffocated in the mask,” said Billy’s brother Anatoliy Tsaruk. “It might’ve just played a role in scaring her to panic. Everything is just speculation at this point.”
Sophia and Billy were excited about their new baby.
According to Sophia’s sister, Ilona Tsymbalyuk, the pair were thrilled to be welcoming a baby girl in a few short months.
“Her birthday is the day after Christmas,” the woman told KITV of her sister. “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.”
Tsymbalyuk is caring for Logan, the couple’s young son. “There’s not a moment he’s alone,” the aunt said. “Everybody’s constantly rotating wanting to hold him (Logan) because they left a little bit of him and her in him.”
In a video shared by Island News, Logan can heartbreakingly be seen reaching for a photo of his parents, appearing almost to caress them.
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A GoFundMe account will help with final expenses.
Andrey Tupikov created a GoFundMe page that has already raised $135,000 of a $140,000 goal. The money will help with the couple’s final expenses and to raise Logan.
“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. Their serving spirit and warm company will never be forgotten, and may God help us all to love and serve one another as Ilya and Sophia served,” the page reads.
