Three Rescued off Rocks at Sharks Cove

As reported by Tim Sakahra – Oct 21, 2013 – Hawaii News Now

Hawaii News Now – KGMB and KHNL

PUPUKEA, OAHU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Three young adults are recovering Monday night after a frightening rescue at Sharks Cove on Oahu’s North Shore.

Lifeguards say the victims are lucky this wasn’t much worse. The man and two women were out on the rocks taking pictures when they were hit by a wave and knocked into the ocean.

The two women, ages 19 and 20, both had serious head injuries. The 18-year-old man was also bloodied from several cuts.

Lifeguards pulled them out of the water and took the two women to the hospital.

“I landed about halfway down the slope going over, I landed halfway on to there and had to climb back into the water and they were kind of floating toward the shoreline. The one girl Jessica had a skull deep wound in her right here by her eyebrow and my girlfriend she was complaining about numbness on her left side. She had blood in her hair right here,” said Rick Pixton, injured by the wave. “I’m just a little shaky. Kind of hurt everywhere.”

There was a high surf advisory in the area at the time of the incident. Ocean Safety officials say it is a matter of common sense to check conditions. And they warn swimmers not to go out on the rocks because a wave can come up at any time.

Ocean Safety says lifeguards rescued ten people on the North Shore today and another four people on Leeward Oahu (three of which were at Makaha Beach). Lifeguards also warned nearly 700 more people about the dangerous conditions.