Maui firefighters did two rescues Saturday afternoon about a hour apart from each other.
At about 1:45 p.m. in Waihe’e, Wailuku firefighters were called for a man found exhausted on the shoreline near milepost 5 off of Kahekili Highway.
They were not able to get to the man who was at the bottom of an estimated 100-foot sheer cliff.
The call came in from three divers who were spearfishing in the area when they happened upon the man. They saw him waving for help and were able to call 911 with a cellphone they had with them in the water.
The Fire Dept.’s Air 1 inserted two rescue firefighters by long line to get to the man. The 41-year-old Wailuku man was found exhausted and with minor injuries. He said he had been stuck at the bottom of the cliff since Friday but did not elaborate how he got there.
He was put into a helicopter rescue basket and airlifted to a landing zone set up on Kahekili Highway. He was transported by ground ambulance to Maui Memorial Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.
Earlier, at about 12:45 p.m., Hana firefighters, the Air 1 rescue helicopter, and Rescue 10 from Kahului were called to the trail leading to Red Sands beach for a hiker that fell over the side of a cliff. Hana fire crews arrived 10 minutes later and found a 68-year-old female laying on the shoreline below the trail. She had been hiking with friends and fell about 25 feet onto the rocks below.
The woman, a visitor from San Diego, Calif., sustained serious injuries to her head, arms and hips. Firefighters put the woman in a rescue basket and airlifted her to the Hana Ball Park. From there, the victim was transferred to a waiting Maui Medevac helicopter and transported by air to Maui Memorial Medical Center.
http://khon2.com/2015/02/08/two-rescues-saturday-keep-maui-crews-busy/