Updated | 10:20 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018
An 80-year-old Homer resident drowned on a Hawaiian beach on Saturday.
Maui Fire Chief Edward Taomoto said the man was traveling with family members but went snorkeling alone at Ulua Beach.
Ocean conditions were rough and body boarders found the man floating in the water.
They brought him to shore where bystanders gave him CPR. Firefighters and a paramedic crew responded to the scene but could not revive him.
The fire department did not release his name.
— Renee Gross, KBBI-Homer
Original story | 8:12 a.m. Monday, Feb. 5, 2018
WAILUKU, Hawaii — A fire official says there have been 10 ocean-related deaths in Maui waters since Jan 1.
The Maui News reports that nine of those deaths happened last month and all appear to be random.
The most recent death came Saturday morning when an 80-year-old Homer, Alaska, man was found dead while snorkeling.
Fire Services Chief Edward Taomoto says the victims have been all men ages 50 and older.
Eight of the victims were visitors while two were Maui residents.
Daniel Galanis, an epidemiologist with the state Department of Health, says nine deaths over a two-week period in January “is an extreme total.”
Galanis says he hopes to do a formal analysis of the deaths.
— Associated Press
