7 hikers are rescued after night on ridge
The Honolulu Fire Department helicopter Monday morning safely extracted seven hikers who had to spend the night on a ridge overlooking the H-3 freeway’s Halawa Tunnel.
The hikers called 911 at 6:53 p.m. Sunday after they lost their way trying to gain access to the Aiea Loop Trail.
The Fire Department helicopter located them by 7:30 p.m. using the GPS coordinates from their cellphone, but rescuers decided to wait until first light Monday to conduct a safe helicopter lift.
The helicopter crew was able to find an open spot near the stranded hikers Monday morning and flew them to a landing zone at the new Aiea Public Library beginning at 6:45 a.m. The last hiker was airlifted to safety at 7:30 a.m.
Earlier on Sunday fire rescue workers responded to a distress call in Aiea involving three hikers — two men and a woman — at 8:13 p.m. They were able to find the hikers in the dark and escort them to safety.
2 injured in motorcycle accident on H-1
A 43-year-old man and a 39-year-old woman were seriously injured Sunday in a motorcycle accident on the Ewa-bound H-1 freeway near the Hickam offramp.
The two were listed in serious condition and taken to a hospital, where their conditions improved, Honolulu police said. They were not wearing helmets, Emergency Medical Services said. The accident happened at about 5:55 p.m., and the freeway was reopened at 7:43 p.m., police said.
Visiting hiker hurt while using Maui rope ladder
A 28-year-old visitor from Argentina injured his shoulder Sunday on a rope ladder in Maui’s Bamboo Forest and had to be airlifted to safety.
The Maui Fire Department received the distress call at 3:55 p.m. Sunday. Rescue personnel determined that the victim had a possible dislocated left shoulder and was on top of a rope ladder at one of the pools near mile marker 6.5 on Hana Highway.
The Fire Department’s helicopter flew the man from the forest to the highway, where he was taken by ambulance to Maui Memorial Medical Center. His injuries were not life-threatening, officials said.
