Photo: Soren Hald / Image Source / Getty Images
The United States Coast Guard rescued a 17-year-old who spent roughly 12 hours clinging onto their kayak off the coast of Hawaii. The Coast Guard said that the teen got separated from his high school kayaking team on Wednesday (October 16) afternoon. He was about a half-mile south of Sheraton Waikiki Beach Resort when his kayak capsized.
Officials said he was not wearing a life jacket at the time.
The Coast Guard issued a maritime alert to be on the lookout for the boy and then dispatched an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter, an HC-130 Hercules airplane, and a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium to scour the ocean for him.
Around 4:20 a.m. on Thursday morning, an aircraft located the teen about a mile from the shore and marked the area with flares. The Coast Guard then notified Noland Keaulana, an off-duty lifeguard who had been searching the water in his boat since the teen was reported missing.
Keaulana followed the flares and found the teen, who was still clinging to his capsized kayak. He then pulled the teen into his boat and took him to the Ala Wai Boat Harbor.
He was then transported to the hospital, where he was treated for exhaustion, dehydration, and exposure.
"I think he was in total shock because he wasn't emotional at all. I was actually crying my guts off because he was okay," Keaulana told KHON. "He said I'm worried about my mom because she probably misses me."
You can watch the video of the rescue below: