Shark encounter closes beach
Kauai Ocean Safety officials closed a beach to swimming due to a shark encounter Tuesday afternoon in Haena on Kauai’s North Shore.
No injuries were reported in the incident, which occurred at about 12:30 p.m. in an area known as Tunnels Lagoon located at Makua Beach, also known as Tunnels.
Ocean Safety officials said experienced spear divers reported seeing a 7- to 8-foot-long shark aggressively approaching them. "The divers gave up their catch to the shark and were able to swim away unharmed," the Kauai County Fire Department said in a written news release.
County officials posted shark warning and "no swimming" signs along the beach, and the public is warned to stay out of the water until further notice.
The beach will remain closed Wednesday while lifeguards reassess the situation.
For updates, call the Ocean Safety Bureau at 241-4984. Daily ocean reports are available online at www.kauaiexplorer.com.
Man who died in fall is ID’d
The Honolulu Medical Examiner’s Office on Tuesday identified a second man who died recently after falling off the back of a pickup truck on Hawaii island as Leo Koichy, 36, of Waikoloa.
Koichy was working on a farm when he fell out of the back of a moving pickup, the Medical Examiner’s Office said. The cause of his death has not been determined.
Honolulu police said the accident occurred at about 8 a.m. Oct 10. Koichy fell and sustained a severe head injury, then was flown in critical condition to the Queen’s Medical Center. He died at about 6 p.m. Thursday, police said. Police opened an unattended-death case.
On Sunday, Michael J. Anderson died after falling out of the bed of a moving pickup in Ocean View.
Police said Anderson was thrown from the truck bed Saturday when the driver failed to stop at a stop sign and made a sharp turn into a gravel lot. The Ocean View man was found unresponsive on Walaka Drive. He was flown to Queen’s, where he died at 9:38 a.m. Sunday.
Food waste might be fuel
LIHUE » Kauai County is studying whether food waste can be used to produce renewable natural gas to power buses and other county vehicles.
Restaurants, schools, hospitals and grocers are being asked to take a survey to determine how much local food waste is being produced.
The Garden Island newspaper reported Tuesday that the results of the study might also lead to projects that could reduce waste disposal fees, reduce dependence on imported fuels and extend the landfill’s life span. The survey is at www.surveymonkey.com/s/86DYP3J.
