An 18-year-old Oahu woman survived a 150-foot fall Tuesday while hiking near Wailua Falls in East Kauai, the Kauai Fire Department said.
The woman, an exchange student, was hiking on an unofficial trail when she fell about 12:25 p.m., the Fire Department said in a news release.
The rescuers couldn’t locate the woman in the forest, but they met with the man who called for help after seeing the woman fall. He hiked with rescuers down the trail to the woman on the Lihue side of the river.
Firefighters picked her up in a helicopter and flew her to a nearby landing zone, and paramedics took her to Wilcox Hospital for treatment of minor scrapes.
Police closed part of Maalo Road between mile marker 3 and the end of the road for about an hour for the rescue.
Police, firefighters and personnel from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources responded to the incident.
Couple rescued after being blown out to sea
Maui firefighters rescued a California couple who was stand-up paddling Wednesday after strong tradewinds blew them out to sea off West Maui.
Firefighters were notified just before noon that someone saw the couple waving for help from about 300 yards off Kahekili Beach Park, said Maui Fire Department spokesman Ed Taomoto.
Responding firefighters spotted the 28-year-old man and the 27-year-old woman with binoculars while the couple was about a mile from shore and being blown out to sea, Taomoto said.
Lifeguards on a personal watercraft reached the pair and brought them back to Kahekili Beach Park.
Taomoto said 25 mph tradewinds pushed the couple offshore.