Coast Guard rescues snorkeler near Molokini

The U.S. Coast Guard rescued a snorkeler Wednesday near Molokini Crater after the man complained of pain in his arms.

The 69-year-old, who headed out aboard the 53-foot Lani Kai, began experiencing pain while snorkeling near the crater, according to the Coast Guard, which arrived at the scene with a paramedic.

The patient was brought to shore aboard a Coast Guard Response Boat-­Medium, where awaiting emergency personnel transported him to Maui Memorial Medical Center.

HAWAII ISLAND

Blaze at warehouse under investigation

The Hawaii County Fire Department is investigating how bales of recyclable cardboard, paper and plastics caught on fire at a Keaau warehouse Monday, jeopardizing the 36,000-square-foot building.

About half of the recycling warehouse in the Shipman Industrial Park was full of compressed bales of recyclable materials stacked 16 feet high that were burning in several areas of the warehouse, firefighters said.

Firefighters arrived at 1:13 a.m. and had the blaze extinguished at 6:30 a.m.

The county brought in a front-end loader and the owner of the recycling company provided another front-end loader, a skid-steer loader and a mini excavator to move smoldering bales outside, where firefighters extinguished them.

These combined efforts helped save the warehouse “from substantial damage,” the Fire Department said.

There was no immediate estimate on cost from the damage.