A 44-year-old Pahoa man apparently drowned Sunday morning while diving in the ocean off Kalapana, according to the Hawaii Police Department.
Foul play is not suspected. The victim’s name is being withheld pending notification of relatives, police said.
The man was diving from a boat when his companions noticed him floating in the water, police said.
Hawaii County Fire Department rescue personnel from five units, including a county helicopter, responded to the 10:09 a.m. call Sunday and assisted in the recovery of the man’s body from the dive boat, which was en route to Pohoiki Boat Ramp.
According to the Fire Department, CPR was not performed by the boat operator because of the lack of personnel on the boat.
Rescuers recovered the victim from the boat using a Billy Pugh net and brought him ashore at Kalapana Seaview Estates, where medics determined the man was “obvious (dead on arrival),” according to the Fire Department.