A swimmer who died Thursday after being pulled unconscious from Hanauma Bay on Sunday was the third elderly Japanese tourist this week to get into trouble or drown in waters around Oahu.
All three victims were men in their 70s.
The medical examiner’s office identified the latest victim as Fumio Kudo, 76, of Omori, Japan.
Police said the 76-year-old visitor was pulled out of the water at Hanauma Bay on Sunday after another swimmer found him unconscious in the water. Lifeguards performed CPR before he was taken to the hospital, where he died Thursday. An autopsy will be conducted Monday to determine cause of death.
Jessica Lani Rich, president and executive director of the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii, said she is concerned that the number of visitors who get into trouble in the water seems to be going up.
Rich’s nonprofit private organization was founded by the Honolulu Rotary Club in 1997 to aid visitors who have been victims of a crime or other adversities.
On Monday, Kazuo Takino, 73, of Osaka, Japan, drowned while snorkeling off Heeia Kea Pier.
The medical examiner’s office conducted an autopsy Tuesday and determined the cause of death was accidental drowning.
When paramedics arrived at the scene, efforts were already underway to try to revive Takino using CPR. Paramedics took Takino in critical condition to the hospital where he died.
The incident occurred just before 2 p.m.
On Wednesday, Fumio Ando, 79, of Aichi, Japan, died while swimming at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Lagoon in Waikiki.
He was taken in critical condition to the hospital at 3 p.m. where he died. An autopsy determined that Ando drowned.
Rich said her organization contacted the families of the three Japanese tourists to offer them assistance. Two of the families declined and instead relied on their tour companies.
