Posted on: Tuesday, March 19, 2002

Lifeguards save two Hanauma visitors

By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer

City lifeguards were kept busy yesterday at Hanauma Bay as two visitors were found unconscious within minutes of each other.

At about noon, a lifeguard spotted an elderly woman face down and not moving about 75 yards offshore, said Jim Howe, chief of operations for the city's Ocean Safety Division. She was brought to shore but did not have a pulse and was not breathing, Howe said.

The lifeguard was able to resuscitate the woman, identified as a 72-year-old visitor from Japan. She was at Hanauma Bay with her husband, Howe said.

She was in guarded condition at Straub Clinic yesterday.

While emergency crews were working on the woman, someone ran to them and said there was another problem about 200 yards down the beach. Lifeguards found an unconscious 52-year-old man from Washington.

Howe said another visitor identified as a physician was attempting to revive the man, who was "completely unresponsive" when he was taken from the beach to The Queen's Medical Center.

He was in critical condition yesterday.

Howe said it was not known whether the man ran into trouble in the water or if he had collapsed on shore. He said the area where the man was found is not known for swimming or snorkeling.

The man had gone to Hanauma bay with his wife and brother, Howe said.