Woman rescued after a tumble over Rainbow Falls

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A woman in her 20s was taken to Hilo Medical Center on Friday afternoon after accidentally going over Rainbow Falls.

According to a written Hawaii Fire Department release, a county helicopter and fire rescue specialists were dispatched to the falls in the lower Kaumana area of Hilo.

One rescue specialist dropped into the water from the chopper and swam to the woman, who was able to make it to the bank of the Wailuku River, and conducted a patient assessment.

Another rescue specialist was flown on a long line with a litter to the woman, and loaded her to into the litter. She was taken to a landing zone and transferred to a waiting ambulance, treated and driven to the hospital.

The second rescue specialist was then extricated by the chopper from the river bank using a Billy Pugh net.