Maui Man Airlifted After Fall From Cliff Near Hoʻokipa

A Maui man was airlifted after sustaining serious injuries in an apparent fall from a cliff east of Hoʻokipa Beach Park on Friday evening.

Fire officials say the victim’s friend called for help at around 5:27 p.m. on Friday, April 1, 2016.  According to department reports, the caller said his friend was last seen 30 minutes earlier near the cliff’s edge, but could not be found.

A fire crew from the Pāʻia station hiked down the cliff, about a mile east of Hoʻokipa, just before Maliko Gulch, and located the 37-year-old Maui man lying at the bottom of a 75-foot cliff.

“The man appeared to have sustained serious injuries from a fall and was conscious and talking, but the man was uncooperative with rescuer’s attempts to treat and move him to safety,” said Maui Fire Services Chief Edward Taomoto.

The man was eventually airlifted out by the fire department’s Air 1 helicopter to paramedics waiting in a nearby pasture. He was then transported in serious condition to the Maui Memorial Medical Center.

Engine 2 from Pāʻia, Rescue 10 out of Kahului, and the department’s Air 1 helicopter responded to the incident.