The dangerous trend of subway surfing has claimed two more young victims in New York City.
On October 4, 12-year-old Zemfira Mukhtarov and her 13-year-old friend, Ebba Morina, tragically lost their lives in a train accident at the Marcy Avenue subway station in Brooklyn.
“The education system needs to start teaching new lessons called, Common Sense, For Every Action there's a Reaction... there are Consequences,” wrote one social media user.
Highlights
- 12-year-old Zemfira Mukhtarov and her 13-year-old friend, Ebba Morina, lost their lives while riding on top of a moving subway train in Brooklyn.
- Zemfira’s parents were unaware that their daughter had sneaked out of the house in the middle of the night to record the dangerous TikTok trend.
- The deceased 12-year-old’s parents were left distraught by the news and have set up a GoFundMe page to cover her funeral expenses.
- “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,” said her father, Ruslan Mukhtarov.
The identities of both young victims were released by the New York City Police Department (NYPD) on October 7
Image credits: gofundme
The fatal incident occurred in the early hours of October 4, when authorities responded to a 911 call just after 3 a.m.
According to Zemfira’s parents, who migrated to New York from Azerbaijan and Ukraine, their 12-year-old daughter had sneaked out of the house around midnight.
She met up with Ebba, and together, the two were reportedly filming TikTok videos of the thrill-seeking activity while riding on top of a moving subway train.
Image credits: ImMeme0 / X
Zemfira, who was reportedly obsessed with subway surfing, often shared videos of herself performing such stunts across New York City subway stations on her TikTok account.
In the weeks leading up to her tragic death, she had posted several alarming clips, including one that showed her lying on active train tracks.
New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) President Demetrius Crichlow described the tragedy as “heartbreaking,” adding that it “horribly” scars not only the victims’ families but also the transit workers.
Zemfira Mukhtarov frequently shared videos of herself participating in the dangerous subway surfing trend on social media
Image credits: zemaspamzz
“It’s heartbreaking that two young girls are gone because they somehow thought riding outside a subway train was an acceptable game. Parents, teachers and friends need to be clear with loved ones: Getting on top of a subway car isn’t ‘surfing,’ it’s su**ide.”
Zemfira’s mother, Nataliya Rudenko, and her father, Ruslan Mukhtarov, learned about their daughter’s demise while watching the news that same morning.
Her distraught mother recalled that she had been cooking breakfast in the kitchen with her other daughter, 11-year-old Maryam Mukhtarov.
Image credits: zemaspamzz / TikTok
Nataliya’s younger daughter had recognized her sister’s skateboard and purse in the TV footage; that’s when she and her husband realized something was terribly wrong.
Rudenko told Fox5 New York, “She was supposed to be asleep in her room. Now, we’re planning her funeral.”
The 12-year-old had sneaked out of her Bay Ridge home in the middle of the night without her parents’ permission
Image credits: zemaspamzz / TikTok
Zemfira was just two weeks away from celebrating her 13th birthday on October 17.
Her father blamed himself for the tragedy, saying that “amid the challenges of immigration,” he couldn’t give “more time” to his children.
Ruslan told Daily News, if he had been around more, “maybe this wouldn’t have happened, though nothing’s guaranteed.”
“The lesson I’ve learned is to be grateful for the moments we create with family, not the obstacles that derail us. Give more love and time to your loved ones, a good memory will stay with you forever, even after an unexpected loss we can’t predict.”
Netizens were equally heartbroken over the loss of the two young lives, with many blaming the parents for the tragedy.
Image credits: FOX 5 New York / YouTube
One user expressed, “I feel bad that the parents are dealing with their loss. However, at 12 years old, they should have had better control of her and her social media exposure.”
Another commented, “I was raised with the fear and respect of parenting control.... thank goodness, everything about my life was addressed and nothing was overlooked!!!”
Zemfira was just days away from her 13th birthday when she lost her life while riding on top of a subway train
Image credits: FOX 5 New York / YouTube
“And parents continued to let their 12 year old have a phone after knowing what she was doing!?”
However, Nataliya disagreed with the online sentiment, saying that Zemfira was a “normal youngster who played volleyball at school, took martial arts and violin lessons, and even visited Disneyland with her family.”
Image credits: FOX 5 New York / YouTube
“She’s not a kid [who] sits in her room, and I cannot close this room and take a key and just, you know, [make her] stop doing this thing,” said the distraught mother.
Her mourning father has set up a GoFundMe page titled Help Us Honor Zemfira Mukhtarov’s Memory to raise funds for the memorial services.
Image credits: FOX 5 New York / YouTube
Ruslan wrote in the campaign description, “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. We are struggling to process this immense grief.”
The grieving parents attributed their loss to a lack of time spent with their children, caused by the “challenges of immigration”
Image credits: gofundme
So far, almost $21,000 has been donated toward the $22,000 goal.
The trend of subway surfing is part of a broader phenomenon known as urban exploring, which has grown significantly in popularity among young people in New York City since 2018.
To address the issue, the NYPD has deployed drones, enabling officials to intercept more than 130 minors this year alone who were taking part in the dangerous activity.
Image credits: gofundme
According to reports, six people lost their lives while riding outside trains last year, compared to five in 2023.
Subway surfing, riding outside or between moving train cars, is illegal under the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) regulations in New York.
Image credits: gofundme
To raise awareness about the issue and its public safety risks, the MTA launched a safety campaign in 2023 titled “Ride Inside, Stay Alive,” urging riders to refrain from such dangerous stunts.
“I don't feel sorry for her at all. She deserved what she got. I feel so sad for her parents and family,” wrote one disappointed user online
