St. Paul man drowns while snorkeling in Hawaii
LAHAINA, Hawaii (KMSP) - A Minnesota man drowned while snorkeling in Hawaii over the weekend, just one in a recent string of drownings on the island of Maui recently.
The 52-year-old St. Paul resident was on a snorkel cruise near Lahaina harbor in Maui Friday morning when crew members noticed he hadn't moved for a few minutes, realizing soon after that he was unresponsive. They began CPR and took the boat back to shore, but paramedics declared the man dead in the harbor.
As of Saturday, authorities said eight people had drowned in waters off the island of Maui over the past two weeks, a staggering number confounding authorities who also note that drowning is the leading cause of death for visitors to the chain of islands.
Investigators said the St. Paul man was using a traditional two-piece mask and snorkel at the time of his death.
KHON2 News Hawaii contributed to this report.