West side residents say more education is needed after Honeymooner dies at Electric Beach

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Officials said a 49-year-old man died after being pulled from waters off Electric Beach in Nanakuli Thursday morning.

The Visitor Aloha Socitey of Hawaii, also known as VASH, says the man came to Oahu from California with on a honeymoon trip with his wife.

Officials say the incident happened around 10 a.m.

Officials said the man was found unresponsive in the ocean and bystanders brought him out of the water, performing CPR until first responders arrived.

Emergency Medical Services administered advanced life support and transported him to the hospital in critical condition, where he later died.

Honolulu police said there were no suspicious circumstances or any obvious signs of foul play.

VASH says it is supporting the victim’s wife during this time as immediate family flies into Oahu.

“This is a very tragic situation. The family is grieving” said Jessica Lani Rich with VASH. “Can you imagine being on a honeymoon and having your spouse pass away.”

Residents tell HNN the amount of tourists coming to the area has increased in the last 10 years. Some feel there is a lack of knowledge about spots that can be dangerous.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority, recently awarded a 27 million dollar contract to the Council For Native Hawaiian Advancement for tourism management.

It says that money will be used to help educate tourists once they are here.

“At the end of the day, these occurrences, whether its visitors driving into the ocean or someone passing away, it’s bad publicity, it’s bad PR,” said Kuhio Lewis, the CEO of CNHA. “I think the state is starting to recognize, and rightfully so, that managing the destination is just as important as marketing Hawaii.”

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