Kekaha Kai State Park to Reopen Today

Kekaha Kai State Park will be reopened today after a helicopter flyover this morning showed no sign of sharks in the area.

The park will reopen at 11 a.m., said Deborah Ward, spokeswoman for the the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

The park located 2.7 miles north of Kona International Airport was closed Tuesday afternoon after a 12- to 14-foot tiger shark attacked a swimmer in Mahaiula Bay in the southern portion of the park.

Both that and the Kua Bay portions of the park remained closed Wednesday after a mid-day flyover detected a small shiver of reef sharks near the park.

The victim of Tuesday’s attack, 28-year-old James Kerrigan, was hospitalized for treatment of wounds to his right leg. He told Big Island Now Wednesday that he expected to be released from the hospital in a day or two.