Hawaii
5 scuba divers rescued off Hawaii Kai after being spotted by sailboat
HAWAII KAI (HawaiiNewsNow) – Five scuba divers who were drifting for hours were rescued after being spotted by a sailboat in waters off Hawaii Kai.
Camila Storchi was sailing with her husband from Kaneohe to Honolulu Wednesday when they heard a commotion coming from the water.
”We were passing Hanauma and going around China Walls. He heard screaming for help and he started scanning the ocean and we saw five little dots,” said Storchi.
Those dots turned out to be five divers, all clinging to one another desperate to stay to stay above water.
They told Storchi they’d drifted away from a tour boat. One of the divers appeared to be in bad shape.
”One of them was like gray and he was throwing up,” said Storchi. “My husband tried to pull him and he couldn’t even hold the ladder. We tried to pull them up but the boat was rocking back and forth.”
Storchi said her husband immediately radioed the Coast Guard who allegedly told them there had not been any other calls for help.
The sailboat stayed on scene, keeping a close watch over the exhausted divers.
However, a bizarre encounter happened that left the Storchi’s confused.
About 45 minutes later, a Coast Guard helicopter arrived.
Then a boat also appeared out of nowhere.
“When the helicopter was getting low, this boat came fast and scooped them up and left and we thought it was weird,” explained Storchi.
She said the divers later found her on social media and explained what had happened.
“We didn‘t know the other side of the story,” said Storchi. “We found out there were six divers and one stayed on the boat and said the captain was not monitoring anything. The diver had to tell the captain ‘Look, there’s is a Coast Guard helicopter, maybe they are there.’”
Storchi said she‘s sharing this encounter to highlight concerns around boat safety. She’s worried the tour captain may not have called the Coast Guard for help when it was necessary.
“When you have divers, you need to be scanning the horizon, even if they are under the sea. Something can happen,” she explained.
HNN has reached out to Coast Guard for more information and is waiting to hear back.
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