HAWAII KAI, Hawaii (KHON2) — Lifeguards hope rescue tubes spread to more spots after an 18-year-old in Hawaii used the flotation device to save a couple of visitors who were struggling at China Walls on June 4.
Officials stressed that 911 should still be called even if the tubes are used.
Kahikina Kalima said the two Florida visitors were not paying much attention to the warnings they heard from locals that day at China Walls.
“Saying they could swim better than girls,” Kalima said, “they jumped in, was having a hard time already, the water flat and then the waves start coming in, I was telling them to hurry up and I told him, ‘Get off, get off!’ One of them got off and then the other one stayed on top.”
“He went, got swept right over and then he went whack his head right onto the wall.”
Kahikina Kalima, saved two Florida visitors
Kalima threw the man a rescue tube, which the swimmer quickly grabbed onto before he caught his breath. Officials said calling 911 should be the first step, though they are happy Kalima was there.
“The local knowledge, the local guys in the ocean here are a big help,” Honolulu Ocean Safety Lt. Kawika Eckart said. “Call 911, get us rolling. We’re usually at Sandy Beach. We respond real quick. Secondly, get the rescue tube out to them, you swim away from the cliff, relax and we’ll be on our way.”
There was even a too-close-for-comfort moment for a California family while NewsNation affiliate KHON was at China Walls on June 7.
“Yeah, that one took me by surprise and I was like, ‘Oh, OK.’ So, that’s when I grabbed my son like, ‘Hey, let’s understand the physics and the way the waves work and you’re not in charge here. The waves are,'” Allison Zarrabi said.
Kalima was able to get the two visitors out of the water and then called 911. Health officials said a 20-year-old man was hospitalized with serious injuries.
Ocean Safety officials said waves come in sets, and the water could have appeared flat when the visitors first arrived.
“And maybe every minute or two the sets will come and then all of a sudden it turns,” Eckart said.
Officials are thankful that locals were there to get the visitors out of the water, but they said the residents might never have had the chance without the rescue tubes.
“These rescue tubes have saved thousands of lives, it’s crazy,” Eckart said. “Even when we respond to, that I know if it wasn’t for that rescue tube, that guy wouldn’t be alive today.”
The Hawaii Kai Lions Club provided the tubes in East Oahu in January 2024.
“And the hope is that other entities will start sponsoring them and putting them out around the island,” Eckart said.
There are currently 20 rescue tubes along Oahu’s eastern shores, click here for more information.
