Inter-Island Helicopters Sunday fielded two back-to-back dispatches, one for an injured hiker at Kalalau Beach and the second for a capsized kayak off of Waimea Pier. Helicopter pilot Ken D’Attilio said around 4 p.m. an unidentified person hiking out of
Inter-Island Helicopters Sunday fielded two back-to-back dispatches, one for an injured hiker at Kalalau Beach and the second for a capsized kayak off of Waimea Pier.
Helicopter pilot Ken D’Attilio said around 4 p.m. an unidentified person hiking out of the Kalalau Trail called about a Los Angeles man, age 40, who had sustained an injury to his ankle. The man was airlifted out, refused an ambulance for his sprained ankle and was dropped off at Port Allen airport.
Approximately an hour after the Kalalau call, as the helicopter was refueling, D’Attilio heard another call from dispatch about a capsized boat off Waimea Pier.
D’Attilio again headed out in the Air 1 chopper, this time to identify what was capsized and quickly set up a search pattern to determine if there were any people associated with the ocean craft, he said. No indications of a paddler were found.
The capsized craft was a kayak tied to a WaveSki, which was still afloat, D’Attilio said. Kaua‘i Fire Department dispatched a boat and retrieved the two-man kayak and WaveSki.
According to the Waimea Fire Station, the kayak belonged to a resident who kept it tied up along the Waimea River, and the rope got loose, releasing the water crafts into the ocean. KFD has returned the kayak and WaveSki to the owner.
