DEAN SENSUI / DSENSUI@STARBULLETIN.COM
Emergency medical technicians and firefighters worked to revive a drowning victim yesterday as he was transported to an ambulance. He was picked up from "Witches Brew" in Hanauma Bay, the first of two victims retrieved from the rough water.
2 visitors from Two men visiting from Chicago drowned yesterday outside the reef at Hanauma Bay known as "Witches Brew," adding to the high number of ocean drownings on Oahu so far this year.
Chicago drown
at Hanauma Bay
The brothers-in-law are the
12th and 13th drowning
victims off Oahu this yearBy Nelson Daranciang
ndaranciang@starbulletin.com
The men -- brothers-in-law in their mid-30s -- were Oahu's 12th and 13th ocean drowning victims since the beginning of the year. There were only four ocean drownings on Oahu all of last year.
Also yesterday, an 81-year-old Makiki woman drowned in a condominium swimming pool and Big Island police said that a 23-month-old boy apparently drowned in a swimming pool at his family's home on Thursday.
Capt. Kelly Krohne of Honolulu Ocean Safety and Ocean Services, said about the Hanauma Bay drownings: "A lifeguard noticed one of the men struggling to get onto the ledge and ran out to get him."
That was at about 11:30 a.m.
Lifeguards got the man on the ledge and began performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation. They then asked the park ranger to check with the people on the beach to see if anyone else was missing.
A woman on the beach notified lifeguards that her husband and brother had gone snorkeling and had not returned, Krohne said.
"We called rescue and the second guy was spotted from the tower. The (jet) ski got to him and took him to the beach," he said.
The first man pulled from the water was the woman's husband, said Capt. Richard Soo, Honolulu Fire Department spokesman. He was taken to Straub Hospital in critical condition, where he later died.
Soo said the woman escorted her brother in the second ambulance that took them to Queen's Medical Center. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.
The ledge has been closed for a couple of days because of hazardous conditions and strong currents, Krohne said.
He urged people to heed the warning signs and listen to the lifeguards.
DEAN SENSUI / DSENSUI@STARBULLETIN.COM
Rescuers rushed a second drowning victim back to shore with the aid of a Jet Ski. He was picked up from "Witches Brew" in Hanauma Bay, where the first victim also was retrieved.
While firefighters were still responding to the second drowning victim at Hanauma Bay, a resident in the upper floors of the Makiki Royal condominiums at 1310 Heulu St. spotted a woman floating in the pool and called the resident manager at about 1 p.m.
When firefighters arrived, the resident manager had already pulled the woman out of the pool. She was taken to Queen's where she was pronounced dead.
The Kona drowning victim, meanwhile, was identified as Keelan Kalani Ken Tomita of a Kaiminani Street address in the Kona Palisades subdivision.
The Kona Division of the Hawaii County Police Department said in a news release yesterday that he was found Thursday in a swimming pool by a family member after others noticed he was missing.
The boy was taken to Kona Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 3:17 p.m.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.