Posted on: Friday, June 14, 2002
Hawai'i Kai man dies in high surf
By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer
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| Friends of yesterday's drowning victim at China Walls, flanked by Fire Department rescue workers, scan the rough water. Their friend's body was found later about two miles away.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser |
A 19-year-old Hawai'i Kai man was presumed drowned and a woman was rescued yesterday at a popular surfing spot off Portlock, prompting firefighters and lifeguards to warn summer beachgoers about the dangers of high surf on O'ahu's south shore.
Swimmers and surfers flocked to the beaches yesterday after a south swell boosted waves to 6- to 10-feet at Sandy Beach, Diamond Head, Ala Moana and Waikiki.
The 19-year-old man was swimming at China Walls near Koko Kai Park when he was swept out to sea just before 12:19 p.m., said Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Capt. Richard Soo.
Three fire companies, the Fire Department helicopter and lifeguards on jet-powered watercraft searched for the man who was found under four feet of water less than two miles away at Pillars just before 1 p.m., Soo said.
Capt. Kendall Rust of Honolulu's Ocean Safety Division said China Walls is beautiful under calm conditions, but becomes a "dangerous place" under high surf conditions. He said China Walls is "notorious" for numerous near-drownings and drownings in the past several years, especially during the summer.
"It's almost a rite of passage to go over to Portlock and jump in," Rust said. "The kid jumped in, a big set came, and that was the last (his friends) saw of him."
Since 1977, more than two dozen people have drowned at China Walls and the surrounding one-mile area that includes the west end of Hanapepe Loop and Lumahai Street near Spitting Cave, said Hawai'i Kai Fire Capt. Ben Suiso.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser "In the last 25 years, there's been at least one drowning a year and double or triple that in near drownings," said Suiso who has lived in Hawai'i Kai since 1964 and is the senior member at the Hawai'i Kai station with 15 years of experience.
Suiso said China Walls and Sandy Beach are the two most dangerous surfing spots on the south side, but said China Walls is the most treacherous because it has no lifeguards, only high-surf warning signs.
About 20 people surfed China Walls yesterday, a spot that has some of the biggest waves on the south side, Suiso said. Waves as high as 6-feet rolled into China Walls yesterday.
Suiso said the 19-year-old man's three friends made the right decision by calling 911 immediately. He said the four worked at the 'Aina Haina Foodland Super Market.
"His friends did all they could," Suiso said. "I don't want them to feel that it's their fault. If this guy's three friends jumped into the water to save him, we probably would be recovering two or three bodies as opposed to one."
The drowning was one of three water-related incidents yesterday on the south side. At 10:15 a.m., lifeguards rescued a woman tourist at Hanauma Bay after she nearly drowned in the keyhole area, Rust said. The woman collapsed on the beach, but was revived by lifeguards. She walked to the ambulance and was taken to Straub Hospital.
At about 12:30 p.m., lifeguards rescued a woman who was swept into the water while she was picking 'opihi near China Walls, Soo said. Her companion jumped in to to save her and he was assisted by lifeguards, Soo said. The woman was not hurt.
Soo said he expects the Fire Department to get busier with ocean rescues as the summer wears on. He said beachgoers should check surf conditions before venturing out and they should know their swimming limits. He also said beachgoers should go to spots that have lifeguards.
"The problem is there's a lot more people in the water during the summer," Suiso said. "More people are out of school and the weather is nicer. In the summer, there's big swells on the south shore. You have to be careful."
Grim-faced men learn the fate of their friend and co-worker from Fire Department personnel. The man who died, and his friends, worked at the 'Aina Haina Foodland Super Market.
