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Hiker dies in fall from Olomana Trail

BRUCE ASATO / BASATO@STARADVERTISER.COM

Personnel from the City Medical Examiner’s office prepare to transport the body of a hiker from a staging area at Maunawili Valley Neighborhood Park today.

A hiker died today after apparently falling hundreds of feet from a dangerous trail in Maunawili.

Firefighters responded to a hiker in distress on Olomana Trail at about 10:50 a.m. and were told a hiker in his late 20s fell from the third peak of the trail, said Honolulu Fire Department Capt. Kevin Mokulehua.

Firefighters searched for the man by helicopter, but were having trouble locating him because of the heavy tree cover, Mokulehua said.

Firefighters asked a hiker near the body to shake a tree, giving firefighters a general location of the area, then firefighters rappelled down to the ground and reached the hiker at about 12:15 p.m., Mokulehua said. The man was found near the base of the peak, about 400 feet below the hiking trail, without a pulse and not breathing.

He was taken by helicopter to Maunawili Valley Neighborhood Park and transferred to paramedics.

An Emergency Medical Services report said he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Several people have died falling from the trail, which is popular for its impressive views and treacherous ridgelines.

In June 2015, a 53-year-old Florida man died after he fell about 200 feet off the trail between the first and second peaks.

Off-duty firefighter Mitchell Kai, 28, died in January 2014 after falling 50 feet while hiking about 100 feet from the summit of the third peak, and social worker Ryan Sue­naga, 44, died April 2011, after falling 150 feet between the second and third peaks.

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