Miracle as teen kayaker rescued clinging onto boat, 10 hours after getting separated from his school group
by Kit Heren · LBCTeen kayaker rescued from sea
By Kit Heren
A teenage kayaker was rescued from the sea while clinging onto his raft, ten hours after becoming separated from his school group.
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The unnamed 17-year-old had capsized his kayak over a mile off the coast of Oahu, the main island of Hawaii, on Wednesday evening. He was not wearing a life jacket.
When emergency services were told that he was missing, they sent out rescuers including a plane and a helicopter, as well as a boat to search for him.
The airplane crew found him holding onto his kayak in the sea in the early hours of Thursday morning and sent up a flare to mark the position.
An off-duty lifeguard was dispatched to pick him up. They found the boy in the sea and rushed him to hospital, where he was treated for hypothermia and other injuries.
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The Coast Guard said in a statement: "Coast Guard Sector Honolulu watchstanders were notified by Honolulu Fire Department personnel at 7:27 p.m. Wednesday that a 17-year-old boy had gotten separated from his high school paddling team approximately one-half mile south of Sheraton Waikiki Beach Resort.
"The teenager had reportedly capsized on a 20-foot surf ski and was not wearing a life jacket.
"Sector Honolulu watchstanders issued an urgent maritime information broadcast, launched an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter and HC-130 Hercules airplane crews from Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point, and launched a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew from Coast Guard Station Honolulu to search for the missing teen.
"At 4:03 a.m. Thursday the airplane crew located the kayak with the teenager clinging onto it, deployed a flare to mark the position offshore the War Memorial Natatorium, and directed a nearby good Samaritan boater to the location.
"The good Samaritan, an off-duty lifeguard with the Honolulu Ocean Safety Department, rescued the boy from the water.
"At 5:25 a.m., the off-duty lifeguard transported the 17-year-old to Emergency Medical Services personnel at Ala Wai Harbor, where he was treated for injuries and hypothermia and transported to an area emergency room.
"He was in serious but stable condition."