LIHU‘E — A Princeville resident spent Thursday night with some Kaua‘i Fire Department firefighters and rescue specialists in Hanakapi‘ai Valley after a rescue attempt Thursday was aborted due to wind and darkness. The injured hiker, a Princeville man and not
LIHU‘E — A Princeville resident spent Thursday night with some Kaua‘i Fire Department firefighters and rescue specialists in Hanakapi‘ai Valley after a rescue attempt Thursday was aborted due to wind and darkness.
The injured hiker, a Princeville man and not a woman as a county press release first indicated, was flown from the landing zone near Hanakapi‘ai Beach along Na Pali Coast early Friday morning, according to another county press release and Casey Riemer, general manager of Jack Harter Helicopters.
The Lihu‘e-based helicopter company was called to do the extraction, requiring two trips because of the number of rescuers involved, Riemer said in a telephone interview Friday.
According to a spokesperson for Wilcox Memorial Hospital, the injured hiker was in fair condition Friday. He suffered injuries that were not life-threatening.
Thursday, a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter was called to make the rescue, but wind and darkness made the rescue attempt too dangerous for both the hiker and the rescuers on the ground and in the air, said Mike De Nyse, a Coast Guard public affairs officer.
“I’m just happy that we have such a good relationship with the fire department that we can be able to work together there to ensure this guy’s safety,” De Nyse said in a voice-mail message.
According to the county press release, the injured hiker was near Hanakapi‘ai Falls when he was injured Thursday.
Three rescue specialists and two firefighters spent the night with the injured man, and assisted him to the Hanakapi‘ai Beach landing zone.
The rescue operation resumed Friday at around 6:30 a.m., and was done by 8 a.m., according to the county press release.
