MEDIA RELEASE

Fire/rescue crews responded to a 3:54 p.m. alarm Monday (Oct 11) for a bodyboarder drowning at Kaimu Beach fronting Kalapana Village Cafe.

Witnesses reported a 33 year-old bodyboard was in distress in high surf conditions when he was submerged under pounding waves offshore. The bodyboarder then resurfaced face down in the surf then sight of him was lost in the white wash of surf and he was not seen again.

Fire crews dispatched firefighters to search the ocean by land and two helicopters for an aerial search a half-mile in each direction along the coastline. The bodyboard was not found and search operations were suspended due to darkness.

The search will resume at first light on Tuesday (Oct 12)

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