According to eyewitnesses, one man drowned and another was said to be dead in an incident that took place Friday in waters off Wailea.

Maui residents Zeb Walls and Marty Forbes, who were working at a nearby remodeling project, said the incident happened at about 1:50 p.m. Friday between Wailea Point and the Four Seasons Resort.

Forbes said the surf was not bad, but the current and wind were stronger than the men in distress could handle. Forbes said all three men had gone out on one paddle board and lost it in the surf.

Walls and Forbes said there appeared to be an unsuccessful attempt to rescue the men by four people on a paddleboard from the beach.

“There was no rescue equipment I could see on the beach, just these paddle boards,” Walls said.

The waves were about two feet high, and the wind was blowing at about 15 mph with a rip current pulling the men in distress away from the shoreline, Walls and Forbes said.

“We were screaming for help. There were people everywhere but nobody was helping. They were just watching,” Forbes recalled.

Walls said he got on a paddleboard, paddled out about 50 yards and found one of the men had drowned.

Walls said another man was weak and didn’t want to leave his dead friend. Walls added that the paddle board was slippery and difficult to use in a rescue.

Walls also noticed a third man in the water about 75 yards from the beach who seemed to be OK at the time. Walls said he got the drowned man on the paddle board, and with the other man, they made their way south closer to shore.

Forbes said he met Walls, the drowned man and the survivor as they made their way in front of the rocky coastline at Wailea Point and they carried the drowned man to shore.

Walls said he spoke to the owner of the paddleboard who told him the man who was 75 yards away also drowned, but Walls said he did not actually see the second man dead.

Walls and Forbes said Maui County Ocean Safety arrived on a jet ski near the man 75 yards offshore.

Walls and Forbes said that from talking to the people on the beach, they believe one of the men initially got into the water trying to help his daughter who was caught in the surf. The daughter was able to return to shore, but her father was pulled away from the shoreline. Other relatives apparently tried to rescue the father.

The Maui County Department of Fire and Public Safety did not respond to requests for information about the incident on Tuesday or Wednesday.