Whitefish man dies after rescuing daughter off Maui coast

HONOLULU (AP) — A Whitefish man has died after saving his 15-year-old daughter who was washed into the ocean off the coast of Maui.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports that a large wave washed the girl into the ocean at the Olivine Pools on Tuesday. The 45-year-old Whitefish man jumped into the ocean and got his daughter back to a rocky cliff where other people used towels to pull her up the ledge.

But when the people on shore looked back to the man, he was floating face down.

Firefighters in a helicopter and lifeguards on rescue watercraft pulled the man from the water about 40 feet from the shoreline. He was airlifted and firefighters began CPR, but the man died on the scene.

The Whitefish family was reportedly vacationing in Hawaii. The man’s name was not released by authorities.

The girl suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was released to family, The Maui News reports.

According to The Maui News, Olivine Pools is an unprotected lava shelf that is susceptible to rogue waves. Multiple drownings have happened at the site over the years, the newspaper reports.

Tuesday’s fatal accident was the 16th ocean-related death on Maui this year.