Owner of deadly Kauai swimming hole blocks access
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In a photo made July 6, 2011, a woman jumps into Kipu Falls in Lihue, Hawaii, on the island of Kauai. But the alluring beauty of the waterfall and natural pool conceals a deadly side. Five visitors to Kauai, all male, have drowned at Kipu Falls in the past five years. (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy)
The landowner of a popular Kauai swimming hole where five visitors have died in the past five years has decided to fence the area and put up no trespassing signs.
Grove Farm says it’s blocking access to Kipu Falls in the interest of public safety. It’s facing several lawsuits over the site.
Most of those killed jumped off the top of the waterfall into a pool about 20 feet below, then drowned while attempting to swim to shore.
Grove Farm Vice President Marissa Sandblom says the company began installing a metal fence on Wednesday.
Locals have been swimming at Kipu Falls, apparently without problems, for years. Tourist traffic boomed after guidebooks began mentioning the place in the 1990s.
