honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted at 2:42 p.m., Monday, March 26, 2007

Coast Guard probing death on catamaran

Advertiser Staff

The Coast Guard is investigating the death of a 48-year-old man killed Sunday during a whale watching cruise aboard the Kiele V catamaran.

The Kiele V sent out a distress call at approximately 5:09 p.m. Sunday reporting the vessel had been demasted.

The Kiele V was approximately two miles off Kahana Beach near Kaanapali Beach, Maui, when the crew requested assistance over marine channel 16 and with a 911 phone call.

The crew reported the vessel's mast had snapped.

The Kiele V had 52 people aboard at the time of the accident.

The Coast Guard responded to the call with a 47-foot motor lifeboat from Station Maui at Maalaea Harbor, a small boat from the ice breaker Polar Sea and an HH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station Barbers Point, according to a news release.

In addition, two Good Samaritans -- the Gemini and Teralani III -- and Maui Fire Department responded to the distress call. Fifty-one survivors were transported to shore by the Coast Guard, MFD and Good Samaritans.

The 48-year-old man who died has not been identified.

Coast Guard personnel on scene reported seas of six feet and winds 20-30 mph with stronger gusts.