Two Rescued Sunday Off Keaukaha Shoreline

Two people, including a 9-year-old boy, were rescued off Hilo’s Keaukaha coastline Sunday morning after being washed into the ocean by a large wave.

Fire Department personnel arriving at Keokea Point, just west of Onekehakeha Beach Park, at 10:38 a.m. found that the 9-year-old boy had already been pulled from the water by a bystander. Paramedics began administering cardio-pulmonary resuscitation.

The department’s Chopper 1 rescue helicopter located the other victim, a man in his 30s, offshore and dropped a rescue specialist into the water. Both were airlifted from the ocean using a Billy Pugh net.

Paramedics on shore transported both victims to Hilo Medical Center, with the man initially listed in critical condition and the boy listed as stable.