Posted at 10:30 a.m., Monday, April 30, 2001

Man found floating off Hawaii Kai

Advertiser Staff

A 49-year-old man was at Queen's Medical Center in guarded condition today after a near drowning off Hawai'i Kai. The man was found floating several hundred yards offshore and plucked from the ocean by firefighters in a jet boat, officials said.

Firefighters, including the Air One helicopter, responded to the 7:32 a.m. call at the Lanai Lookout for a man floating on a bucket, said Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Capt. Richard Soo. Preliminary reports indicated that the man was a fisherman, Soo said.

Firefighters from the Hawai'i Kai station responded with a jet boat and reached the man who was then airlifted to the Hawai'i Kai boat ramp where medical personnel waited, Soo said.