Visitor Injured by Rogue Wave at Mākena, Maui

South Maui firefighters responded to La Perouse Bay in Mākena for a woman that was injured by a wave at the shoreline.

La Perouse / File Image: Malika Dudley

The incident was reported at 11:58 a.m. on Monday, June 19, 2017.  Wailea firefighters arrived at the parking area to La Perouse Bay at 12:22 p.m. and began hiking in on a shoreline trail towards where the injured person was reported to be located.

Crews were unable to communicate with the injured woman because of poor cell phone reception in the area.  Firefighters eventually ran into the injured female walking out with her husband.

Fire officials say the 29-year-old woman from San Francisco had multiple lacerations to her body and a possible broken arm.

Firefighters walked her out to paramedics where she was evaluated and chose to drive herself to seek further treatment.

Maui Fire Services Chief Edward Taomoto said the visiting couple was near the water’s edge when a rogue wave washed over them, knocking the woman over on the sharp lava rocks. They said that another group of three females and a 22-month-old boy, who were higher up from the shoreline were almost swept in as well, and had lost all their footwear, food and water when the wave crashed over the rocks.

Firefighters continued on the trail to locate the three other females and their 22-month-old boy. They eventually reached the women and learned that one woman still had her shoes, but the other two had no footwear and could no longer walk barefoot over the hot and sharp lava rocks.  They were also very thirsty because they had lost all their water bottles to the wave.

An employee from Mākena Stables at La Perouse Bay, volunteered the use of their ATV and brought water out to them. The employee then drove them back to their car in the parking area.

The women, all in their late 20s, are visiting Maui and are all Oʻahu residents.

FSC Taomoto said, luckily, they were not injured when the same wave that injured the San Francisco woman nearly swept them off the rocks and washed their belongings into the sea.