54 Stranded Hikers Rescued in Hawaii, 1 Dead
By Rocky Thompson on February 27th, 2013
A fierce rainstorm and rapidly rising stream trapped 54 hikers overnight in Hanakapiai Valley on the North Shore of Kauai, Hawaii. The hikers said the stream seemed to rise to impassable, fast-moving depths in a matter of minutes. One 40-year-old woman hiking with her fiancé lost her footing while crossing, regained it for a moment, and then lost it again to be swept downstream and out of sight of 20 people standing on shore. Firefighters recovered her body the next day. The night of the storm, firefighters were able to reach the stranded hikers but the sheer numbers made it impossible to fly them out, so they created shelters from tarps and built a bonfire to keep people warm as temps dropped into the low-60s. The next day 9 people were flown to safety and the rest chose to hike out on their own.