Maui police have confirmed that a second man died in ocean waters off Wailea despite rescue attempts.

The 56-year-old man from Kazakhstan was brought ashore on May 23, where resuscitation efforts were made, before he was taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center in Wailuku in critical condition.

The body of a 33-year-old man from Kazakhstan also was retrieved on a paddleboard off rocks in front of Wailea Point. The 33-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene by Maui County paramedics.

The Maui Department of Fire and Ocean Safety reported receiving an emergency call from a member of the public at 1:48 p.m. with personnel arriving at the scene at 1:56 p.m. and the first jet ski arriving at 2:01 p.m.

Witnesses said the incident took place between Wailea Point and the Four Seasons Resort, where the waves were about 2 feet high and the wind was blowing at about 15 mph. A rip current reportedly carried two men, including the 33-year-old man, about 50 yards away from the beach. His companion survived.

Meanwhile, the 56-year-old man was carried about 75 yards away from the beach.

Maui residents Zeb Walls and Marty Forbes said there appeared to be an unsuccessful attempt by four people on a paddle board to go out from the beach to rescue the two men.

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

Forbes said the 56-year-old man had been “treading water for quite some time and screaming for help.” Forbes said he believes the 56-year-old could have been rescued if there had been the right tools such as a surfboard on the beach and someone who knew how to use it.

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

Others related to them apparently tried to rescue the father and were caught in the rip current.

Drowning is the fifth leading cause of fatal injuries among Hawaii residents with an average of nearly 40 deaths a year, according to the state Department of Health.

The department said drownings are the only type of injury for which non-residents comprise a majority of victims — about 53% — and their inclusion increases the average annual number of deaths to 83.

Hawaii had the second highest resident drowning fatality rate among all 50 states from 2013 to 2017 behind only Alaska, the department said.