HONOLULU (AP) — The Honolulu Fire Department helicopter kept busy Memorial Day, rescuing three stranded hikers and one injured hiker in separate incidents in Windward O’ahu. The Kaua’i Fire Department on the other hand had a relatively quiet weekend, dealing
HONOLULU (AP) — The Honolulu Fire Department helicopter kept busy Memorial
Day, rescuing three stranded hikers and one injured hiker in separate incidents
in Windward O’ahu.
The Kaua’i Fire Department on the other hand had a
relatively quiet weekend, dealing mostly with minor medical calls and brush
fires.
An incident was reported on Kaua’i: A Florida woman dislocated her
leg at the base of Hoopii Falls, near Kealia Stream and had to be carried out
by Rescue 3 personnel Monday.
Kaua’i Police reported no incidents.
On
O’ahu, three people were rescued after becoming stranded while hiking in the
Koolau Mountains.
Fire Department spokesman Capt. Richard Soo said a
39-year-old Mililani man, his 37-year-old wife and a 35-year-old male friend
visiting from Pennsylvania began a planned two-day hike on the Summit Trail
near Laie on Saturday. They planned to end the hike on the Poamoho Trail near
Whitmore Village Monday morning.
The hikers said the weather turned bad
Saturday night and they become disoriented. They hiked all day Sunday but
realized they were still on the Windward side of the island. The following
morning, they called 911 on a cell phone.
The three were found on a
precarious cliff above Sacred Falls. Soo said the rescue helicopter landed on
one skeg to make the rescue, with each of the hikers being lifted off the cliff
separately.
The hikers were flown to a park near Hauula Elementary School,
They were in good condition and did not require medical treatment.
A
25-year-old serviceman was lifted off the slopes of Mount Olomana near Kailua
after he fell during a hike Monday afternoon.
The injured man, another
serviceman, and three civilians — all in their 20s — were hiking the Mount
Olomana trail near the Luana Hills Country Club when they came upon a rope used
to assist hikers up a steep section of the trail, Soo said. The rope broke and
the 25-year-old man fell 10 feet and landed on his back.
One of the hiking
companions broke the man’s fall, according to Soo.
The helicopter dropped
two rescue specialists who stabilized the victim and placed him in a litter
basket.
The man was taken by ambulance from Maunawili Community Park to a
hospital.
The man who broke the injured hiker’s fall also was lifted out
but the other three walked out.