Snorkeling company slammed for continuing tourist trips with 'bodies in water'
A snorkeling company has been slammed for continuing to take tourists on leisure trips in the sea despite harrowing reports of bodies being in the water.
A video on Instagram shows a tourist snorkelling boat close to the coast of Maui in Hawaii as wildfires continue to rage and the death toll climbs to over 80.
The person filming the scene can be heard saying: “Shame on this company right here. Look at all these tourists frolicking in the water…unreal.”
The video was shared by Instagram user @KapunaFarms and shows a boat from the company Maui Snorkeling with a crowd of people swimming in the sea.
Footage then cuts to trucks rushing by as they supply the ongoing relief efforts - in contrast to the leisure activity being enjoyed off the coast.
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People have commented on the video to express their anger.
On Twitter, one user said: "Maui Snorkeling Lani Kai running tours for the tourist off Lahaina coast where dead bodies are still in the water, homes and buildings are burnt to the grown, people burned alive and you have companies like this still making money and entertaining tourist next to a tragedy how gross.”
Another added: “Unbelievable, like nothing happened. People always surprise me on just how easy it is to be about yourself and not care about anything.”
A snorkelling company has been slammed for continuing tourist trips in Hawaii (Instagram/kapunafarms)
A tourist snorkelling boat close to the coast of Maui in Hawaii (Instagram/kapunafarms)One continued: “So disrespectful on so many level. This represents the exact problem on Maui right now. Screw the locals as long as the entitled get to play. You guys know better.”
And another said: “Wow, what lack of respect and basic human decency.”
The company has since said sorry, adding in a statement: “We'd like to apologize to the community of Maui for running our snorkeling tour on the morning of August 11th. Our intent was to donate 100 per cent of the profits to the Maui Food Bank in order to support those affected by the fires, which will provide thousands of meals.
“We also offered our vessel throughout the week to deliver supplies and rescue people but its design wasn't appropriate for the task.”
The statement goes on to say it has decided to suspend all tourism operations for the moment as it does not want to add to the ongoing suffering.
Two people look through the ashes of their family's home in the aftermath of a wildfire in Lahaina (AFP via Getty Images)This comes as dogs trained to find bodies sniffed through piles of rubble and ash as stunned survivors of deadly wildfires that killed at least 80 people on the Hawaiian island of Maui took stock of their shattered lives and tried to imagine rebuilding from nothing.
Officials scrambled on Saturday to find temporary housing for more than 4,000 people as the astonishing scope of the devastation became clear.
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Communications were difficult, with 30 cell towers still offline, and power outages were expected to last several weeks on the western side of the island, where some fires had still not been contained as of late Friday.
Authorities, meanwhile, warned that the death toll could rise as search efforts continue.
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