Authorities have identified the two young girls tragically fatalities in a subway surfing incident in Brooklyn, as the devastated father of the younger victim expressed his sorrow, stating his daughter was “full of life, taken from us far too soon.”
Zemfira Mukhtarov, 12, from Brooklyn, and Ebba Morina, 13, from Manhattan, were discovered unconscious atop a Brooklyn-bound J train at the Marcy Avenue-Broadway subway station around 3:10 a.m. on Saturday, according to police sources.
Both girls were pronounced dead at the scene, bringing the total number of victims due to this viral yet perilous activity to five this year, as stated by law enforcement officials.
“With heavy hearts, we are reaching out for support following the tragic loss of my dear daughter, Zemfira, who died in a heartbreaking accident at a subway station,” Zemfira’s father, Ruslan Mukhtarov, shared on a GoFundMe page set up to assist with funeral costs.
“She was 12 and was set to celebrate her [13th birthday] in just two weeks, bursting with life and taken from us in an unimaginable incident believed to be linked to subway surfing,” he added. “No parent should endure the pain of losing a child, and no child should have their life cut short this way.”
“We are struggling to process this overwhelming grief and reaching out to our community for help to give Zemfira the loving farewell she deserves.”
Zemfira and Ebba were part of a group of approximately 15 teens playing around inside the train before being found on the train’s roof, as reported by witnesses.
Officers were seen conversing with three teenage boys at the station, subsequently taking two of them away in a police vehicle.
Subway surfing instances, spurred by social media trends, have surged in recent years, with teens sharing videos of these dangerous acts, officials have noted.
Six individuals died while subway surfing in 2024, and five fatalities occurred due to these risky stunts in 2023.
From 2018 to 2022, a total of only five people lost their lives while riding atop trains.
“It’s devastating that two young girls are gone because they believed riding outside a subway train was just a game,” stated NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow in a statement.
“Parents, educators, and friends must be emphatic: climbing on top of a subway car isn’t ‘surfing’—it’s a death wish,” he continued. “My thoughts are with the bereaved families and transit workers who encountered this tragedy, all deeply affected by this loss.”
The most recent subway surfing victim in New York was Carlos Oliver, a 15-year-old from the Bronx, who fell from a moving southbound 7 train as it neared the Queensboro Plaza station in Long Island City around 2:45 a.m. on July 4, authorities reported.
On March 14, Gustavo Guaman-Quizhpilema, 12, from Queens sustained serious injuries while riding on top of a 7 train at the 111th Street station in Corona around 8:15 a.m.
Sadly, Gustavo passed away four days later, according to a GoFundMe page.
MTA representatives are imploring parents to ensure their children do not get drawn into this reckless trend.
The MTA has been promoting a public service announcement, “Ride Inside, Stay Alive,” across subway systems since 2023, urging teenagers to refrain from riding outside of trains.
Since November 2023, the NYPD has utilized drones to respond to the issue, reporting 229 arrests for riding outside trains in 2024, an increase from 135 in the previous year, based on NYPD statistics.
