“It was so scary”
Surfer bangs with head on reef – and is now in a coma
Updated on 02/26/2025 – 5:13 p.m.Reading time: 2 min.
The Surfer Makai McNamara is in the intensive care unit. The reason: a violent fall on the Banzai pipeline.
The Banzai Pipeline in Hawaii is notorious for her dangerous waves – now she has brought another surfer in mortal danger again. Makai McNamara hit his head on the reef on Sunday after a fall and had to be revived on site. As his brother Landon now announced, the 29-year-old is in the intensive care unit: “The last update is that he will be kept in an artificial coma for the next 72 hours,” he wrote on Instagram.
In his article, Landon Macnamara described the fall from his point of view: “It was so scary to no longer see him after falling on this wave. I wish I had done more and would have been faster with him, but I know that he was in good hands, and I just tried to be there as much as possible for him at that moment.”
He thanked everyone involved who brought Makai McNamara ashore. “They brought him back to life on the beach. It was life in his eyes again. He spoke. The feelings were overwhelming,” it said. He shared a black and white picture of his brother about his words.
Professional surfer Eli Olson was also one of the rescuers. He explained to the local medium of “Iceland News” that he kept McNamara’s head over water: “I gave him a few breaths, tried to give him a few compressions. After another round revival, he began to cough up water.” In his opinion, McNamara was under water for almost two minutes. Makai McNamara made a name for itself through so-called big-wave competitions (high waves, editor’s note).