Man Injured in Fall from Fishing Boat at Kapalua

Kapalua, file photo by Wendy Osher.

By Wendy Osher

A 51-year-old man was transported to hospital in serious condition after falling from the tuna tower of a fishing boat on Tuesday morning at Kapalua Bay.

Medics from Napili and Coast Guard crews were dispatched to the scene at 10:55 a.m. Crews arrived to find the man suffering from head injuries.

Authorities say Coast Guard members initiated first-aid care and brought the local male from a chartered fishing vessel to Lahaina Harbor where medics assumed care.

“Apparently, the male fell from the tuna tower of his fishing boat, landed on a mounted fighting chair, and then fell again onto the boat’s deck where Coast Guard members found him,” said Ryan Joslin, spokesperson for the Maui County Paramedics Association.

Joslin said the man received pre-hospital trauma care from an attending paramedic and was transported in serious condition to an awaiting trauma team at the Maui Memorial Medical Center.

It is not known if the patient was a crew member or charter customer.