Man rescued after falling from cliff near Waipi‘o

Firefighters rescued a 50-year-old man who fell off an oceanside cliff Monday morning along the Hamakua Coast near Waipi‘o Valley.

According to a written Hawaii Fire Department statement, both county helicopters and eight other units responded to the 8:41 a.m. alarm reporting the cliff fall.

Because of the remoteness of the area, it took almost a half-hour for the first unit to arrive on scene.

Rescuers found the victim sitting on a ledge about 15 feet below the top of the cliff. The man had suffered multiple abrasions and was complaining of back pain.

The victim was extricated by helicopter and taken by an off-road pickup truck to a waiting ambulance, which transported him to Queen’s North Hawaii Community Hospital without further incident.