An anonymous tourist and his wife likely are thankful that two local men were out diving Saturday morning at the Tunnels on the North Shore. Zack Kamal and James Langtad, both 21, were in the ocean about noon when they
An anonymous tourist and his wife likely are thankful that two local men were
out diving Saturday morning at the Tunnels on the North Shore.
Zack Kamal
and James Langtad, both 21, were in the ocean about noon when they saw a man
and a woman in trouble.
According to Elizabeth Kamala, Langtad’s mother,
the man was able to make it to shore. But the woman, caught in a riptide, was
being swept out into open sea.
“Zack swam out and saved her and James
assisted,” Kamala reported.
The two rescuers couldn’t be reached for
comment.
Kaua`i Fire Department chief David Sproat said the incident was
not uncommon.
“Surfers and boogie boarders are the unsung heroes,” Sproat
said. “There are many incidents that go unheard of. These guys saw someone in
trouble and they just did it. It happens a lot. The natural inclination is just
to help, and the people in the water – the surfers and divers – they just do
it.”
Kamal and Langtad didn’t wait around for the authorities. The pair
went back to their diving, according to Kamala.
“Those visitors were lucky
Zack and James were even there,” she said, adding her son and his friend had
talked about not going diving that day.
Staff writer Dennis Wilken can
be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) and [dwilken@pulitzer.net]
