A 27-year-old man was in serious condition Sunday after being bitten on the leg by a tiger shark off the north shore of Hawaii island, the Hawaii Fire Department said.
Firefighters said a tiger shark bit the man on the left thigh and calf at about 4 p.m.
HFD Battalion Chief Joseph Farias said firefighters reached the man near the 21-mile marker on Akoni Pule Highway as the man was in the back of a truck, traveling to meet with arriving firefighters. Paramedics took the man to Kamehameha Park, where a fire helicopter picked him up and took him to North Hawaii Community Hospital in serious condition.
Dan Dennison, a spokesman for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, said the Kapaau man was spearfishing about 60 yards off Upolu Point in North Kohala when a 13-foot tiger shark bit him on his left leg. He was able to swim to shore and alerted his fishing companion, who called 911.
No beaches are closed, since the attack occurred in an isolated and remote area, Dennison said. Water conditions were murky due to heavy rain in the area.
It was the second shark attack in waters around Hawaii island this year. In March a Kansas doctor was bitten by a tiger shark about 8 to 10 feet long. He sustained lacerations to his left forearm, hand and thigh while standing in 4 to 5 feet of water.
There have been four shark-related incidents in Hawaii so far this year, including a fatal one in Maui waters April 29.
Pedestrian dies after being hit by van
A 44-year-old man died after he was hit by a van while walking across Hana Highway on Saturday night in Kahului, Maui police said. The man, who has no local address, was not in a crosswalk when he was struck by a Chrysler van near Dairy Road at about 7:15 p.m. He was taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center in critical condition and later died.
The driver of the van, a 44-year-old Kailua man, and his passenger, a 44-year-old Honolulu woman, were not hurt, police said. Police were withholding the name of the pedestrian pending notification of next of kin.
This was Maui County’s 18th traffic fatality of 2015, compared with 17 at this time last year.
Pair hurt in Friendly Isle structure fire
Two people were injured during a structure fire Saturday night on Molokai, the Maui Fire Department said.
Firefighters responded to the fire on Kamiloloa Place in Kaunakakai at about 8:50 p.m. and found a detached garage at the front of the property engulfed in flames, an MFD spokesman said in a release. The occupants, a couple in their late 70s and a female friend who stopped by to visit, were in the main house, the department said.
Police officers were first on scene and ran to the home to alert the homeowners. They pulled out the female homeowner and the female friend through a bedroom window. Firefighters arrived and located the remaining male occupant and brought the man out through a rear exit.
The two women were taken to Molokai General Hospital for smoke inhalation and minor injuries. The male occupant was evaluated by paramedics and released at the scene.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, and damage estimates were not available Sunday.
7 hikers stuck in mountains are rescued
Firefighters rescued seven college students Sunday who spent a night stuck in the Koolau Mountain Range above Kaaawa.
Honolulu Fire Department Capt. James Todd said seven Brigham Young University-Hawaii students, ages 18 to 20, went hiking at about noon Saturday, beginning at a trailhead in Pearl City. The students were trying to hike to the Windward side after watching a video online that showed the trail exiting on the other side of the mountain range.
The students, three women and four men, became stuck above Crouching Lion Inn, where they couldn’t go up or down, and called for help at about 8:45 p.m. Saturday.
Firefighters pinpointed the group’s location but couldn’t rescue them because of darkness, and asked the group to stay in place until daylight, Todd said. Firefighters returned Sunday morning and rescued all seven hikers by helicopter at about 8 a.m. No one was hurt.
