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Honolulu firefighters escort 5 off Moanalua Middle Range Trail overnight

Jason Genegabus

Honolulu firefighters assisted a group of five hikers on the Moanalua Middle Ridge Trail overnight when three women and two men became disoriented after hiking for more than 14 hours.

The Honolulu Fire Department said at 10:27 p.m. Saturday a 911 call was received from the hikers, who had been on the trail since 8 a.m. They requested assistance for one woman, 20, who reportedly fell about seven feet while hiking and suffered an ankle injury.

HFD sent five units, staffed with 16 personnel, and established incident command at Moanalua Valley District Park once the first unit arrived on scene at 10:44 p.m. Once the group had been located by tracking the GPS location of one of the hikers’ cell phones, HFD’s Air 3 helicopter made visual contact to confirm their location on the trail.

Air 3 proceeded to airlift rescue specialists onto the trail at 11:12 p.m., where it was determined HFD would escort the group off the trail by foot. During that two-hour process, a 24-year-old female reportedly felt dehydrated and could not continue; firefighters at that point placed her onto a stretcher and carried her the rest of the way.

HFD said both the 20-year-old and 24-year-old required additional medical care, so they were transfered to Honolulu Emergency Medical Services once the group exited the trail at 2:08 a.m.

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