The five women were all smiles as they posed for a picture on a rock near Lana'i Lookout between Hanauma Bay and Halona Blowhole yesterday morning, said Matthew Parker, who was taking the photo just before the biggest wave he had ever seen popped up and swept the group away.

"It knocked us all over and pulled our friend in," he said, hours after one of the women, a 19-year-old, was pronounced dead. He identified her as Jasmine Kermmoade of Lincoln, Neb. The city Medical Examiner's Office yesterday had not identified her.

"I jumped in after her and I grabbed her. We held each other, but the water just kept throwing us against the rocks. I got to her but the undertow and waves were so strong. They'd yank us to the bottom and we'd swim to the top. I remember going down real deep, then being all alone. I remember coming up and not being able to see her anymore. Then three guys woke me up on the rocks."

Parker, 31, said the four other women later told him that they watched helplessly as he and Kermmoade were smashed against the rocks by wave after wave. The women told him they watched him and Kermmoade battling the conditions for more than eight minutes before they lost sight of Kermmoade and Parker washed up on the rocks.

When the women saw Kermmoade again, she was floating face down, he said.

"We were literally having so much fun. We were laughing and taking pictures and then the next thing I know there was this wave," he said. "She's such a young girl, man. I'm really, really tore up."

The friends, who all work together, were visitors from California.

According to firefighters and city lifeguards, the woman was swept off the ledge and tumbled 15 to 20 feet down a rocky slope into high surf. A man jumped into the water and tried to save her, said Honolulu Fire Department Capt. Kenison Tejada.

A high surf advisory was in effect at the time for east-facing shores, said Jim Howe, operations chief for the city's Water Safety Division. The wraparound made for very rough conditions, he said.

Parker was flown by HFD's Air One in a rescue basket to Sandy Beach.

A firefighter rescue swimmer swam out to the woman and gave her a few breaths to try to keep her going, Howe said. Moments later, lifeguards on a jet ski pulled up, loaded her aboard and took off for Hanauma Bay.

The firefighter swam to shore on his own.

At Hanauma Bay, lifeguards administered CPR for more than 15 minutes before turning the woman over to city emergency service technicians. Parker and the other four women were taken to Straub Clinic & Hospital and Kermmoade was taken to The Queen's Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.

Signs urging sightseers to refrain from hiking down the rocky slope toward the water's edge apparently did not deter the group. Tejada urged visitors and local residents to exercise caution when going near the ocean during rough conditions.

"People gotta look for the wet spots, and please heed the signs," he said. "They were put there for a reason. They were put there for your safety."

The four women suffered cuts and bruises as a result of being swept across the rocks and Parker was treated for injuries to his arms and legs.

The friends all work together at a Concord, Calif., sales company. They had noticed the Lana'i Lookout after rounding the bend in the road from Sandy Beach and thought it would be a great place to take a picture.

"It was one helluva day. We'd been to the mall, been snorkeling, and we decided, 'Hey let's get up early, go sightseeing, make a photo album,' " Parker said. "We were just having a great time. Today was probably the funnest day we've had since we've been here."

The Visitor Aloha Society of Hawai'i assisted the group, said Jessica Rich, the society's president. Rich and Richard Soo, a volunteer with the society, met with the survivors after the accident, and Rich is helping Kermmoade's father with arrangements.

The group had been slated to stay another week, but will be leaving for Concord today.

"They were here to enjoy Hawai'i. They were having a great time and then this tragedy happened," Rich said.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.