Man dead after zipline accident in Paukaa mauka Wednesday (Sept 21)

• 13 years ago

Video featuring the zipline operation. Via YouTube

By Hawaii 24/7 Staff

Fire/rescue crews report they responded to a 9:39 a.m. alarm Wednesday (Sept. 21) to the KapohoKine Adventures zipline attraction in the Paukaa mauka area for an accident involving two men.

One man was reported to be dead at the scene while another with critical injuries was treated at the scene by medics and flown out via Chopper Two to Hilo Medical Center.

Police are investigating the cause of the accident.

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A Maui man died and an Ohio man was critically injured in a zipline accident Wednesday morning in Paukaa, according to a statement from Big Island police.

The men were employed by Experiential Resources Inc., a Maui company that builds and maintains ziplines. They had just made an adjustment to the line and were in the process of testing it.

The 36-year-old Maui man had traveled about halfway across the 2,300-foot span when a tower collapsed and he fell approximately 200 feet onto a dry, rocky riverbed.

The 43-year-old Ohio man, who was standing on the tower, fell about 30 feet. He was taken to Hilo Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition with multiple internal injuries.

The name of the man who died is being withheld pending notification of his family. An autopsy has been ordered to determine his exact cause of death.

Hawaii 24/7 has received reports that KapohoKine Adventures opened to the public last week and workers were brought in from Maui to make the ride faster, in response to customer feedback.

The incident occurred along Honolii Stream, 3.8 miles up from Kulana Street.

Police are continuing their investigation into the accident.

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Statement from KapokoKine Adventures:

Experiential Resources, Inc (ERi), the construction company contracted by Lava Hotline in Paukaa, experienced a tragic construction accident today that resulted in two injuries, one of which was fatal.

There were no Lava Hotline employees affected.

As KapohoKine Adventures doesn’t have direct involvement in either the build or operation of the Paukaa property, we have no further information or details on the accident, but additional information will be made available by ERi.

KapohoKine Adventures offers our sincerest condolences to the entire ERi and LavaHotline ohanas, and our thoughts and prayers go out to the loved ones of those affected.

We appreciate the outpouring of support received from the community through phone calls and emails, and will share all of them with everyone directly affected, and we ask everyone to join us in respecting ERi’s request to honor the privacy and dignity of the affected families during this difficult time.

Gary Marrow, Owner KapohoKine Adventures

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Mayor Billy Kenoi released the following statement on the death of one person and the injuries suffered by another in an accident at a zipline facility:

“I want to express our concern and condolences to the families of both men involved in this tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers go out to their families.”

“We will conduct a careful, thorough review to determine all of the facts in this case. We need to know exactly what happened and why, and we need to know exactly what went wrong. When we have completed that review and the facts are known, we will release our findings publicly.”

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Statement from ERi president John White and ERi owner Todd Domeck:

We are deeply saddened to report that a construction accident occurred today at Lava Hotline just outside Hilo. Experiential Resources Inc. (ERi) was working on a new course, which isn’t open to the public yet.

The accident caused a fatality of one of our employees and critically injured another.

No other employees of the construction company or Lava Hotline employees were injured.

The ERi family extends our heartfelt sympathy and aloha to the family and friends of our employees.