Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Paddler dies after canoe overturns off Keauhou
POSTED: 12:15 p.m. HST, Feb 01, 2012
LAST UPDATED: 02:13 p.m. HST, Feb 01, 2012
A 67-year-old Keauhou man died after a canoe he was in flipped over off Keauhou Wednesday morning, Hawaii County officials said.
The fire department said a double-hull canoe with 10 people aboard overturned in Heeia Bay fronting Manukai Street shortly before 7 a.m. Firefighters found three people on shore.
Enlisting the help of a tour zodiac boat, fire rescue personnel went to the canoe, which was overturned outside the surf break. Six people were holding on to the canoe and a man was floating face-down in the water, the fire department said.
All 10 paddlers from the canoe were back on shore by 7:45 a.m., police said.
One of the paddlers was non-responsive at the scene, police said. He was taken by ambulance to Kona Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:58 a.m. His identity is being held pending notification of his family.
The fire department listed high surf as the cause of the incident. A high surf advisory had been in effect overnight for north- and west-facing shores of all islands.
Police ordered an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
Newswatch
Firefighters rescue paddlers after canoe overturns off North Shore
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