EAST OAHU

Man found floating off Blowhole dies

A man apparently drowned yesterday after he was found floating off Halona Blowhole.

Lifeguards responded to a report of a man floating about 300 yards from shore at about 2 p.m., police said. They recovered the man's lifeless body and brought him back to shore.

Bryan Cheplic, Honolulu Emergency Services Department spokesman, said firefighters and lifeguards tried to revive the man, in his late 30s or early 40s, at Sandy Beach.

Paramedics took the man in critical condition to a local hospital, where he died.

“;Nobody can confirm how he got into the water,”; Cheplic said, adding he did not know what kind of clothing the man was wearing.

Police called the accident an apparent drowning and opened an unattended-death case.

A high-surf advisory was in effect for the east-facing shores of Oahu at the time.

Cheplic said surf faces of about 4 to 8 feet and windy weather are making marine conditions along east shores fairly rough.

On Monday a teenage boy was washed out to sea by a wave near Halona Blowhole. The teen's friends tossed him a bodyboard, and he made it back to shore.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

5 hikers rescued from Big Isle valley

Big Island firefighters rescued five hikers yesterday who were struggling with flooding and heavy rain in Honokane Valley, a county news release said.

Two fire helicopters initially launched at about 8 a.m. to search for four hikers who had been missing overnight in the North Kohala valley.

During the search, one helicopter spotted a group of five hikers and took them to safety at Polulu Lookout. No one was injured.

The choppers continued searching and found the four missing hikers, but they declined assistance.