Two young girls were found unconscious on the roof of a train at a New York City subway station early on October 4, 2025. The girls, later identified as Zemfira Mukhtarov, 12, and Ebba Morina, 13, were declared dead at the scene. Authorities believe they were taking part in the dangerous “subway surfing” trend that has killed other kids in New York City in recent years.
When the recent tragedy occurred, Zemfira’s family thought she was at home. Her mother, Nataliya Rudenko, told Fox 5 that her daughter was supposed to be asleep in her room, but she evidently snuck out that night. Authorities believe Zemfira and Ebba met each other on social media. Sadly, Zemfira’s family learned of the devastating news when watching the news in the morning. It was Zemfira’s younger sister, Maryam, 11, who first noticed Zemfira’s skateboard and bag in the footage shown on TV.
“She said, ‘Mommy, that’s Zemfira’s,'” the mom told Fox 5. “I said, no, it’s someone else’s.” Unfortunately, Maryam, was right.
In a heartbreaking interview with WABC, the 11-year-old said she saw her sister the night of the tragic incident but didn’t talk to her much. “She didn’t talk to me because she got mad at me, so she kind of ignored me that night, which is kind of sad,” Maryam told the news outlet. She described her older sister as her best friend. “She was always there for me,” she shared. “She was everything for me.”
On a GoFundMe page started by Zemfira’s dad, Ruslan Mukhtarov, Zemfira was described as “full of life.” Her dad also revealed that her birthday was approaching and she was about to turn 13. “No parent should ever have to face the pain of losing a child, and no child should lose their life in such a tragic way,” he wrote on the page.
Though subway surfing has been a thing for some time, social media has made it worse. In recent years, more kids and teens have tried the fatal trend after seeing videos that glorify it. A dad who was at a laundromat below the elevated station worries that even accidents like these do little to dissuade teens who are drawn to the dangerous trend. The dad, Duran Walker, told the New York Times, “Even though two kids just passed away, they’re going to still do it.”
Per the newspaper, Demetrius Crichlow, president of New York City Transit, said, “It’s heartbreaking that two young girls are gone because they somehow thought riding outside a subway train was an acceptable game.”
