Pregnant woman and husband drown on holiday in Maui, Hawaii, orphaning their 18-month-old son

A pregnant woman and her husband have drowned while holidaying in Hawaii, orphaning their 18-month-old son who was staying with other relatives.

Ilya and Sophia Tsaruk from Washington state were swimming in the Ahihi-Kinau Natural Area Reserve on the southwest coast of Maui when emergency crews were called to reports of “swimmers/snorkelers in distress in the area” about lunchtime on Saturday.

Ilya, 25, and Sophia, 26, were found unresponsive in the water.

They were rescued and taken to shore where CPR was performed however the resuscitation attempts were unsuccessful and they both died at the scene.

It has not been confirmed whether the couple were snorkelling or just swimming at the time.

Sophia was pregnant with a baby girl, according to a fundraiser set up to help their surviving child.

The couple’s 18-month-old son, Logan, who was staying with family, is now an orphan.

“Ilya and Sophia both loved the Lord and were always serving in the church and serving people around them,” GoFundMe organiser Andrey Tupikov wrote.

“Sophia had the voice of an angel and, together with Ilya, they sang in a worship group in their church.

“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.”

Funds raised will be used to help transport the couple’s bodies from Hawaii and to support Logan.

“There are so many hurdles that we foresee in making sure that he is taken care of in every way, and we are so thankful that so many people have opened their hearts to help,” Tupikov wrote.