Nine men have died in Maui waters between Jan. 14 – 27, 2018. The latest incident was on Saturday when a 71-year-old man from Berkeley, California was pulled from waters off Maluaka Beach in Mākena. Fire officials have confirmed the man died while at the hospital.“In the last few weeks Maui has experienced an unprecedented spike in ocean drowning incidents,” said Maui County Fire Services Chief Edward Taomoto.Two ocean drownings occurred on Jan. 14, “which was the start in a string of fatal drownings we’ve had since,” Taomoto added. Fire officials said they were unable to previously send out information on the first two drownings. Read more…

Source: Maui Now : “Unprecedented Spike in Ocean Drowning Incidents,” 9 Deaths in 13 Days