Double fatality - Maui’s North Shore, Hawaii

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DandyDon

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No word on why or how they died. I also wonder how 911 was called.

Two Maui Men Die in Diving Incident off Maui’s North Shore | Maui Now
Maui Fire officials say two men became separated from a group of five, resulting in a call to 911 for assistance.

Upon arrival, Maui firefighters found that all individuals were out of the water at the bottom of a 130-foot cliff, with two individuals unresponsive.

Engine 2 personnel descended the cliff and initiated CPR on the two unresponsive victims. Rescue 10 and Air 1 were utilized to lift those two
victims to the top off the cliff where EMS personnel were waiting and life saving efforts continued.

One individual was declared dead at the scene, the second was transported to Maui Memorial Medical Center in critical condition, but later died, according to fire officials.

The incident was reported at 11:06 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020.

Fire officials say all divers were Maui residents.

Conditions on scene included a high surf advisory with waves forecast to be in the 10-15 foot range, accompanied by light winds.
 
Diving on Maui's north shore in the winter does not sound like a good idea. With a high surf advisory in effect, with waves forecast to be in the 10-15 foot range, it is hard for me to imagine what a diver could gain over the risk involved.
 
Diving on Maui's north shore in the winter does not sound like a good idea. With a high surf advisory in effect, with waves forecast to be in the 10-15 foot range, it is hard for me to imagine what a diver could gain over the risk involved.
Not to me either, but they were locals. I'm glad that they found them at least as it's a huge ocean.
 
I've dove North Shore of Maui multiple times during the winter. It can be insane on big days, but 10-15 may not be as bad as it sounds. If the period is long enough, they are just rolling hills. Diving off a boat in those conditions is pretty easy.

Looking at the comments on Maui Now, it sounds like it was rough, not just big. Maybe there were spearfishing?
 
It’s looking like they were free divers. From the local news reports I read, the conditions were rough and two of them got separated from the other three. The three divers were able to retrieve the victims and get them to shore and call for help. I’ll guess at least one of them had a cellphone in a waterproof case and were able to call for help once they were out of the water. Both victims were in their early twenties. Kawika Moses Lopez Was one of the victims and a search matches another person in Hawaii with the same first and last name who is a professional photographer, but I don’t think they are the same person.
 
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