Detectives are asking for the public's help to identify potential witnesses and the assailant.

Police have identified the dead man, 23, but had not released the name this morning pending notification of his family, said homicide Lt. Bill Kato.

The brawl broke out at a house fronting Laniakea Beach, at 61-631 Kamehameha Highway. Police said people started throwing beer bottles at each other after about 30 people crashed a Saturday-night birthday party near midnight.

Neighbors told police that 50 or more people were involved, Kato said; other witnesses said several men surrounded the man who was stabbed to death.

"Some said it sounded like a riot," Kato said.

A man was seen jabbing one of the victims, and then another, police said. They gave no information about the suspect's weapon.

The party crashers then fled, and shortly after 1:30 a.m., police, firefighters and Emergency Medical Service personnel were called to the house.

HFD Capt. Kenison Tejada said firefighters arrived at 1:45 a.m. and began assisting two men: one who had been stabbed and another who had suffered head injuries.

A few moments later, firefighters heard screams coming from the beach and followed the sound.

They found a man lying on the sand about 200 feet from the house with a stab wound to the chest.

Shortly after firefighters reached him, Tejada said, the man lost consciousness and had no pulse.

Firefighters performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation and took the man back to the house, where he was turned over to emergency medical personnel.

EMS district chief Mandy Shiraki said one of the stabbing victims was dead at the scene. The second was taken by military helicopter to the trauma unit at The Queen's Medical Center.

The man with the head injury refused to be taken to a hospital.

Police said the surviving stabbing victim remained at Queen's today but did not know whether his condition, originally listed as serious, had changed.

Queen's officials declined to release an update to the media.

Police described the man who died as 5 feet 8, about 165 pounds, clean-shaven with very short brown hair. He had a tattoo on his right inner forearm that read "Jadakiss" and a black tattoo on his left shoulder.

When he died, he was wearing jeans and was shirtless.

The man police suspect of stabbing him was described as 20 or 21 years old. He is between 6 feet and 6 feet 3 and weighs between 175 and 200 pounds. He has a dark complexion and was last seen wearing a long-sleeved, dark-blue shirt, dark shorts and a white beanie.

"We still need people to call and tell us what went on," Kato said, adding that additional victims may have fled the scene.

Potential witnesses are asked to call Detective Ted Coons at 529-3053.