Drone video shows hiker get swept off Hawaiian waterfall in flash flood
EAST MAUI, Hawaii -- Video taken by a drone in Hawaii shows the incredible dangers of flash flooding.
Six friends were hiking in East Maui last week when rapidly rising waters of the Na'ili'ili Haele Stream nearly killed one of them.
The group had taken a break from their hike to cool off in the pool below a water fall. Sean Steininger, 27, of Harrisburg, Kentucky, decided to climb to the top of the waterfall to get a better look.
Suddenly, with no warning, a rush of water came from upstream. Steininger, clinging to a rock, soon lost his grip.
"My brain's just thinking, 'Now I'm going to be thrown over this waterfall,' (and) I know there's all those rocks under there and I'm about to ping pong off all of them," Steininger told ABC affiliate KITV-TV. "Basically I was thinking to myself, 'This is really going to hurt you and hopefully you'll be in good enough shape to get back to the surface once you hit that water below.'"
His friend, AJ Mercer, was halfway up the falls when the water came rushing down. He jumped into the pool and also disappeared. The other four friends frantically searched for both men.
"We look back and Sean's gone and we're screaming, 'Where is he? Where's AJ?'" Sarah Rayne, 28, of Los Angeles, told KITV-TV. "We hear AJ from the other side and he got out."
Fortunately, both men were able to get out of the water unharmed. The group then quickly made their way to higher ground and called 911.
The friends say they're now glad they had been recording their hike using a drone so they can teach others the dangers of flash floods.
"I'm really happy to have this video because I feel like it's so much more powerful than a sign," Rayne said. "When you see the video, nobody wants to be in that situation."
