By Hawaii 24/7 Staff

Fire/rescue crews recovered a person who was swept over Rainbow Falls on Saturday (Feb 24) in Hilo.

At 2 p.m. Saturday witnesses saw a body swept over the falls and observed it floating face down on the Wailuku River. The river was turbulent and swollen from days of heavy rainfall. Crews in the fire department’s Chopper One searched between Rainbow Falls and Reed’s Island locating the body stuck in an eddy of the river. Rescuers were guided by a helicopter observer down a steep embankment to a small cliff where the body was. A line was attached to the body to secure it at sunset.

At daybreak, Sunday (Feb 25), ground units were able to rappel down the cliff to the female victim to recover the body via a rope system set-up by crews. The female body was turned over to the police and coroner’s office for identification.