‘Full of life, and taken from us far too soon’

The two young girls horrifically killed in a Brooklyn subway surfing tragedy have now been identified – while the younger victim’s devastated dad sobbed that his slain daughter was “full of life, and taken from us far too soon.”

Zemfira Mukhtarov, 12, of Brooklyn, and Ebba Morina, 13, of Manhattan, were found unconscious and unresponsive on top of a Brooklyn-bound J train at the Marcy Avenue-Broadway subway station in Williamsburg around 3:10 a.m. on Saturday, cops and sources said. 

Both girls died at the scene, bringing the total number of victims lost to the viral but deadly trend to five this year, police said.

“With heavy hearts, we are reaching out for support after the tragic loss of my beloved daughter, Zemfira, who passed away in a devastating accident at a subway station,” Zemfira’s father, Ruslan Mukhtarov, posted on a GoFundMe page, meant to help cover funeral and memorial services.

“She was 12 and she had to have her [13th birthday] in just 2 weeks, full of life, and taken from us far too soon in a heartbreaking incident that we believe was a subway surfing accident,” he added. “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, and we are turning to our community for help to give Zemfira the respectful and loving farewell she deserves.”

Zemfira and Ebba were with a group of about 15 teens running around inside the train before they were found on the roof, witnesses told police.

Officers were seen speaking to three teenage boys inside the station, then driving two of the boys away in a cruiser.

Subway surfing stunts, fueled by social media, have been on the upswing in recent years as teens have posted videos of the brazen act, officials have said.

Six people died while subway surfing in 2024, and five people were killed in the dangerous stunts in 2023.

Between 2018 and 2022, just five people died riding atop trains.

“It’s heartbreaking that two young girls are gone because they somehow thought riding outside a subway train was an acceptable game,” NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow said in a statement.

“Parents, teachers, and friends need to be clear with loved ones: getting on top of a subway car isn’t ‘surfing’— it’s suicide,” he continued. “I’m thinking of both the grieving families, and transit workers who discovered these children, all of whom have been horribly shaken by this tragedy.”

The last New Yorker to lose his life while subway surfing was Carlos Oliver, 15, of the Bronx, who plunged off a southbound 7 train as it pulled into the Queensboro Plaza station in Long Island City around 2:45 a.m. on July 4, cops said.

On March 14, Gustavo Guaman-Quizhpilema, 12, of Queens was critically injured while riding on top of a 7 train at the 111th Street station in Corona around 8:15 a.m. 

Gustavo died four days after he was struck, according to a GoFundMe page. 

MTA officials have pleaded with parents to ensure their kids aren’t drawn into the reckless trend.

The MTA has also been running a “Ride Inside, Stay Alive” public service announcement on the subways since 2023, telling teens not to ride outside the train.

The NYPD began using drones in November 2023 to combat the issue, and busted 229 people riding outside the trains in 2024, up from 135 in 2023, according to NYPD data.