UPDATE: California Man Dead After 30-Foot Fall at Nākālele, Maui

Nākālele Point. File photo by Wendy Osher.

By Wendy Osher

(Update: 4:05 p.m.; 4:58 p.m. 10/2/2013)

A 30-year-old visitor from Redding, California was fatally injured after falling 30-feet from a cliff at Nākālele Point on Maui this afternoon, officials confirmed.

Police have since identified the man as Dominic Reginatto, and have classified the case as a miscellaneous fatal accident, according to Maui Police Lt. William Juan.

The incident was reported at 12:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 2, near mile marker 38 of the Honoapiʻilani Highway in West Maui.

Maui Fire Services Chief Lee Mainaga said Nāpili and Lahaina firefighters along with Rescue-10 personnel aboard the department’s Air-1 helicopter responded to the scene for a male who had fallen off of a cliff.

Crews from Engine-11 in Nāpili were the first to arrive on scene with medics, and were directed by bystanders down to the blowhole area where the man had fallen onto the rocks below, said Mainaga.

Authorities say CPR was being performed on the victim prior to the arrival of fire and medic personnel.

Medics and firefighters took over medical attention, and Air -1 and Rescue-10 personnel hauled the victim to a secured landing zone near the highway, according to incident reports.

The victim was then loaded into an ambulance where he was pronounced dead, according to Mainaga.

Two years ago on July 9, 2011, a visitor fell into the Nākālele blowhole after being knocked over by a wave. In that incident, a search was called off after unsuccessful attempts to locate the man, who was later identified as David Potts, 44, of San Anselmo, California.

Officials from the County of Maui have cautioned visitors in the past from dropping their guard at the location saying “an obvious danger exists,” and that the site is not promoted by the County of Maui or the Maui Visitors Bureau as a place to visit.

Other recent rescues at Nākālele include the following:

• April 3, 2012: A 41-year-old woman from Prior Lake, Minnesota suffered critical injuries when a wave knocked her off the rocks. Officials say the patient suffered multiple lacerations and a femur fracture in the incident.
• November 26, 2012:  A 55-year-old woman from Vancouver, Washington suffered injuries and required rescue from a steep portion of the trail. No medical transport was required.
• June 11, 2013: A 27-year-old man from northwest Calgary in Alberta, Canada was airlifted to safety after being swept into the ocean. The man sustained a few lacerations to his legs and feet and did not require medical transport.

(Posted: 10/2/2013)

A rescue operation at Nākālele Point in West Maui is currently underway, Maui fire officials have confirmed.

Maui Fire Services Chief Lee Mainaga said personnel from the department’s Rescue-10 unit in Kahului, Ladder-3 in Lahaina, and Engine-11 in Nāpili were dispatched to respond to the incident at the Nākālele Blowhole.

One patient sustained unknown injuries in the incident, which was reported at around 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2013, near mile marker 38 of the Honoapiʻilani Highway.

Circumstances surrounding today’s incident have not yet been released.