Tourists face deadly dangers in paradise
About the article
This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from May 1999.
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In the postcard-pretty environs of the island chain, the dream vacations of several tourists each year end in death. They are battered by pounding winter surf, attacked by man-eating tiger sharks, steamed to death in a volcano or buried under giant rocks - as happened to dozens of visitors Sunday at Sacred Falls State Park.
"They come here to fulfill their fantasies," said Capt. Ken Rust of Honolulu's water safety division. "But they are unaware of the hazards." Seven people are confirmed dead from the landslide, another is missing and presumed dead. Twelve people remain hospitalised.
Ten people have died at Sacred Falls from landslides and flash floods since 1970, yet it remains one of the island's most popular tourist attractions with 56,000 annual visitors.
"People think it won't happen to them," Rust said. Visitors, military personnel assigned to the islands and locals often underestimate the dangers of snorkeling, surfing, jet ski rides, kayak trips, hiking and biking in the islands. And those dangers can be glossed over by tour companies fighting for market share.
"I don't think tourist brochures should list all the recent problems that people may face," Gov. Ben Cayetano said Tuesday. "We want to demonstrate the positive side." With more than 6 million annual visitors to the islands, tourism is Hawaii's No. 1 industry. Tourists spend about $11 billion a year, generating a quarter of its tax revenues and a third of its jobs. Consequently, tourist deaths are not uncommon. Just recently:
- A 29-year-old Californian was killed by a shark off Maui while kayaking with her husband. He accused the kayak rental company of not warning them enough about the dangers of ocean paddling. - A 31-year-old man from Washington state drowned while swimming off Kauai with his fiancee. - A 44-year-old Japanese woman was killed when her Jet Ski was broadsided by another. The accident prompted state officials to consider changes in safety rules.
"It's hard to convince people that this is Mother Nature and we can't control it," said Janet Babb, who offers tours of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island. Ms. Babb's tours explore the wonders of Kilauea Volcano, which has been erupting almost constantly since January 1983.
Since then, five people have died in the park, including a local man who fell into 2,000-degree lava and an American woman who became trapped in a steam vent near the volcano's crater. Park ranger Mardi Lane said both had disregarded signs indicating the area was closed.
