Paramedics Assist Swimmer in Trouble Off Waawaa in Lower Puna

Hawaii Fire Department personnel responded to a report Saturday afternoon of a 37-year-old swimmer in distress in the area of Orr’s Beach in Waawaa.

Friends on the shoreline told rescuers arriving at the scene at 3:56 p.m. that their rescue attempts had been unsuccessful and that the male victim had disappeared under the water.

Rescue personnel soon found the victim underwater about 30 feet offshore. He was transported to Hilo Medical Center.

His condition was not immediately available.

Orr’s Beach was the site of an incident in March 2012 when a couple in a tidal pool were injured by a large wave.