Visitor pulled from water off Kauapea Beach dies

KILAUEA – A 62-year-old visitor from New York was pulled from the water off Kauapea Beach on the North Shore earlier this week.

On Tuesday, October 22, first responders from the Hanalei Fire Station were dispatched to Kauapea Beach in Kilauea at approximately 11:15 a.m. to respond to an unresponsive swimmer. With the intervention of bystanders, the man was given heart massage and taken out of the water.

Upon arrival at the scene, firefighters took command and responded immediately by placing an automatic external defibrillator and mechanical chest compressor device on the unresponsive swimmer.

Fire personnel then transported the victim to waiting paramedics, who assumed further resuscitation efforts while transporting him to Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital in Kapaa, where he was pronounced dead.

An autopsy was planned to determine the exact cause of death. However, there is no suspicion of foul play.

Volunteers from Bridges of Life, a bereavement counseling service, were contacted to offer support to the victim’s family.

The incident was Kauai’s 9th water-related death this year. Ocean officials remind beachgoers that there are no lifeguards at Kauapea Beach and strongly recommend swimming only when accompanied by a lifeguard.