77
ROBERT SHIKINA / RSHIKINA@STARADVERTISER.COM
Search crews recovered a second body near Halona Blowhole on Sunday.
KRYSTLE MARCELLUS / KMARCELLUS@STARADVERTISER.COM
Firefighters are searching for the second missing swimmer off Halona Blowhole.
Police and firefighters recovered a body just east of Halona Blowhole just before 7 p.m. Sunday.
Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Kendall Ching confirmed that it is the body of a missing Schofield Barracks soldier.
The body apparently was deposited on shore by a swell and found by a bystander, officials said.
Crews covered it with a yellow sheet.
Earlier Sunday, firefighters recovered the body of a man who was swept into the ocean by a wave near Halona Cove on East Oahu and had continued looking for a second man who was also washed into the ocean in the same area.
Honolulu Fire Department Battalion Chief Geoff Chang said divers with the fire department found the 21-year-old man’s body underwater near the shoreline of Halona Cove about 6:43 a.m.
Chang said the incident began Saturday about 4:45 p.m. when the two men were on the rocks at Halona cove, next to the Halona Blowhole, when a wave swept one man into the water. The second man tried to help and was also washed into the water by a wave. A third man saw what happened and was swept into the water, but he was able to climb back to shore, Chang said.
The incident happened during a high surf advisory for south shores on all islands. The Weather Service upgraded the advisory to a high surf warning Sunday and said surf is expected to reach 12 to 15 feet. The warning is set to expire 6 a.m. Monday.
