A tourist visiting the island of Oahu sadly perished while cliff jumping on Saturday, February 8. A video of the accident went viral on social media.
In the video, a man identified as Santiago Bourdieum, a 28-year-old Argentinian fitness instructor and rugby player who was vacationing in Hawaii, leaps from a popular cliff jumping spot called Spitting Cave. After hitting the water, he failed to resurface.
Onlookers jumped in the ocean to attempt a rescue but were unsuccessful in locating him. Honolulu Ocean Safety and the Honolulu Fire Department arrived on the scene with Jet Skis about 15 minutes after the jump, located Boudieum, and brought him to shore where they conducted first aid. He was reported in critical condition at the time of rescue and later passed at the hospital.
KHON2 news reports that Honolulu Ocean Safety has responded to injuries, drownings, and near-drownings resulting from cliff jumping 52 times over the past five years. Bourdieum is not the first to die at Spitting Cave. Several memorials have been created at the cliff for others who have passed away.
“If that shelf is wet, you can be dragged right off that shelf and scraped into the water and not be able to get back out,” Brian Lauro, a former resident of the area, told KHON2. “We also don’t want it to be foamy. If it’s foamy over there, foam has a negative buoyancy, which means you don’t float in foam. It’s like liquid quicksand.”
“Just because (tourists) swim in a swimming pool or swim in a lake or jump in a quarry doesn’t make you qualified to do that here,” Lauro added. “Even though you tell them not to do it on a day that would be too dangerous for an outsider, they see our kids do it and they’re like, ‘I can do that too.’ Then they get in trouble.”
Spitting Cave, located east of Honolulu, features a 50-60 foot drop into the ocean, where waves and currents can add to the challenge.
