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Family and Friends of Arunay Pruthi Killed Near Half Moon Bay Launch Foundation Focused on Beach Safety

Family and Friends of Arunay Pruthi Killed Near Half Moon Bay Launch Foundation Focused on Beach Safety

  • The 12-year-old from Fremont was with his father and younger brother at Cowell Ranch State Beach near San Francisco when he was swept into the ocean.

Family and friends of Arunay Pruthi, who went missing after he was swept into the ocean at a beach in California’s San Mateo county on Jan. 18, have launched a foundation focused on beach safety. The 12-year-old from Fremont was with his father and little brother at Cowell Ranch State Beach near Half Moon Bay, on “an unusually warm day.”

Established earlier this month, the Arunay Foundation aims to reduce beach accidents and coastal drownings by raising awareness and educating people about sneaker waves, rip currents, high surf, and other hazardous beach conditions. It will focus on “designing and implementing effective measures that can eventually save the lives of beachgoers,” as per its website. “It is our hope that, together, we can raise awareness and make our beaches safer.” In order to turn these observations into action, the foundation plans to take a three-pronged approach in the effort to make our beaches safer: Educate, Equip, Inform.

Arunay Pruthi.

The foundation is as a fiscal sponsorship project of SeaValor, a non-profit based in Emeryville that uses ocean activities to help improve the quality of life  for those suffering from PTSD. Arunay Foundation, in order to turn these observations into action, plans to take a three-pronged approach in the effort to make our beaches safer: Educate, Equip, Inform.

On Jan. 18, Pruthi, then a seventh grader at Basis Independent Silicon Valley, was standing on the beach with his father and brother when they were swept all to sea, according to a tweet by Cal Fire. While the father and the 8-year-old managed to fight the waves and push back to shore, Arunay was pulled under 100 yards off shore. 

Announcing the launch and the reasons behind it, the family, in a Facebook post wrote about the day they lost Pruthi. “When we left Cowell Ranch beach on Jan 18th, 2021, exhausted and heartbroken, without our 12 year old son Arunay, we knew that something was fundamentally wrong with what had transpired.” read the post.

“Not even in our worst nightmares could we have imagined that a seemingly innocuous trip to the beach would result in the loss of our sweet boy. We were unaware of what sneaker waves were, how to identify the risks of perilous beach conditions, and important life-saving techniques that when utilized could have saved our precious son. Even in our paralyzing grief, we knew in our hearts that something needed to be done. Never again, should anyone lose their loved one to the sea.”

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Noting that sneaker waves kill more people than all other weather hazards combined across much of the West Coast, the post added that “eight people were swept away from Northern California beaches” between Nov 26, 2020 to Jan 18, 2021.  

On June 5, ahead of the foundation’s launch, Pruthi’s school, Basis Independent Silicon Valley, organized a walkathon in his memory. Over 250 students participated and alked 3000 laps (over a 1000 miles) in the hope to raise awareness and funds for beach safety. Pruthi’s brother,  Siddhant, 8, walked 31 laps and covered 10 miles. Teachers and students alike shared their stories and fond recollections about Pruthi.

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