Hiker Airlifted From Lahaina-Pali Trail

Pali area of West Maui. File photo by Wendy Osher.

By Wendy Osher

A hiker was airlifted to safety after fainting during a morning hike on the Lahaina Pali Trail, fire officials said.

The incident was reported at 8:14 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014.

According to department reports, the man who was in his late 50s to early 60s, fainted while hiking with a group of four people.

The group was about 5 minutes up the trail when the man started to feel light headed then passed out, said Maui Fire Services Chief Lee Mainaga.

The man’s friends managed to catch him so he didn’t strike his head on any rocks, but he still ended up with some scrapes, according to an incident report.

“The decision to fly him out was due to the rains that fell earlier making the already rocky trail even more slippery than normal,” said Chief Mainaga.

Fire officials say the Department’s Air-1 helicopter and crew from Rescue-10 arrived on scene at 8:45 a.m. and airlifted the man to a landing zone where he was placed in an ambulance and transported to the Maui Memorial Medical Center in stable condition.