Diver falls off cliff, is taken to hospital

A diver who fell about 50 feet off a cliff into the ocean along the Hamakua Coast late Saturday afternoon was taken to Hilo Medical Center in critical condition.

According to a written Hawaii Fire Department statement, dispatch was called at 4:40 p.m. by a friend of the man who gave rescuers the location, with was near the 18-mile market of Highway 19.

The fire department said 11 units, including a county helicopter and a rescue boat responded. The chopper crew extricated the man and took him to an awaiting ambulance.

No further details were given about the man’s injuries.