Hiker rescued after falling down 80-foot cliffside off illegal Big Island trail

Hawai‘i Fire Department personnel rescued an 18-year-old man who was injured after he fell down an 80-foot cliffside Aug. 16 while illegally hiking on a trail off White Road near Koiawe Stream in Waimea.

A total of seven units, including two Fire Department helicopters, responded to the incident shortly after 3 p.m. Wednesday. According to a press release, inclement weather thwarted multiple initial attempts to locate the hiker, who was being attended to by another person in his hiking party.

Once the hiker was found, one of the helicopters was able to get a first responder on the ground, who attended to the man’s injuries and packaged him for transport via longline and litter basket. The hiker was brought out of the ravine and transported by helicopter to Queen’s North Hawai‘i Community Hospital in Waimea in critical condition.

The three other people in the hiking party were uninjured and able to hike out to the entrance of the trail to White Road, where they met with authorities with the Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources.

The last unit was back in quarters just before 6 p.m.