A fun day at the beach turned tragic when a 77-year-old Russian grandmother drowned at Manhattan Beach Park in Brooklyn.
Liudmila Marchenko, who was visiting her family in Sheepshead Bay, had been enjoying the ocean on Monday, Aug. 11. As lifeguards were finishing their shift, she called her daughter to ask for more time at the beach.
“It’s breezy. It’s good weather,” she told her daughter, Natalia Sapunkova. “Give me an hour.”
But only minutes later, swimmers spotted Marchenko floating face down in the water. Lifeguards rushed to help and performed CPR until paramedics arrived. She was taken to Coney Island Hospital but was pronounced dead around 7 p.m., city officials said.
Because the drowning happened just after 6 p.m., when lifeguards end their shifts, officials said no guards were on duty.
Marchenko lived in Kemerovo, a city in southwest Siberia, and once worked as an accountant for Russia’s road and rail service. She had flown to New York in July to celebrate her daughter’s birthday and spend the summer with family.
Friends remembered her as full of life. At her daughter’s birthday on Aug. 1, she gave a heartfelt speech, recited poetry, and sang a song for her.
“She was very beautiful and loved to live,” said family friend Sofia Kozel.
During her visit, she also traveled to Washington, D.C., where she saw the White House, the National Gallery, and the Washington Monument. But her favorite place was Brooklyn’s beaches, where she swam nearly every day.
“She would stay in the water almost the whole day,” said her granddaughter, Yana Sapunkova. “Even though Coney Island and Manhattan Beach aren’t the cleanest, she loved them.”
On the day of her death, Marchenko had been at the beach for hours. Around 5:45 p.m., she told her daughter she wanted to stay longer. Natalia agreed to pick her up at 7 p.m. But when she arrived, her mother wasn’t answering her phone.
Natalia searched for her at the family’s usual spot by a flat rock. She found her bag, clothes, shoes, and phone — but not her mother.
After an hour of searching, she contacted police. At the 61st Precinct in Coney Island, officers told her what had happened.
“I can’t accept it,” Natalia said. “She’s still with me.”
Yana, who was at a music festival in Pennsylvania when she learned of her grandmother’s death, said she’ll always remember her as a source of love.
“She made my childhood so much better,” Yana said. “I had an amazing grandmother.”
Natalia hopes her mother’s story will serve as a warning for others.
“I hope this will help someone stay safe,” she said. “If you want to swim after lifeguards leave, you’re taking the risk yourself.”
