Maui snorkeling company blasted for continuing trips for tour

A video that has been viewed nearly a quarter of a million times appears to show a snorkeling boat close to the coast of Maui. ‘Shame on this company right here,’ the person taking the video says. ‘Look at all these tourists frolicking in the water…unreal!’ The video, originally shared by Instagram user @KapunaFarms , shows a small boat from the company ‘Maui Snorkeling’ and a couple dozen tourists swimming nearby. Taken from the side of the road, footage also shows trucks passing by supplying gas and supplies to the ongoing relief efforts. The video has already been reshared thousands of times, including by prominent native Hawaiian activists, which helped the video go viral. Dozens have been killed in Maui wildfire, leaving the town of Lahaina devastated. (Image: Getty) For all the latest on news, politics, sports, and showbiz from the USA, go to Daily Express US . One user on the social media platform X wrote: ‘Maui Snorkeling Lani Kai running tours for the tourist off Lahaina coast where dead bodies are still in the water, homes & buildings are burnt to the grown, people burned alive & you have companies like this still making money & entertaining tourist next to a tragedy how gross.’ In a statement posted to its website, the company stated: ‘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 percent 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.’ Many native Hawaiins are irate at tourists who continue to enjoy the island despite the fires. (Image: Instagram / @kapunafarms) The statement went on to say that the company does not want to add to the ongoing suffering and has therefore decided to suspend all tourism operations for the moment. Amidst the rising death toll from the Maui wildfire, authorities are projecting a multibillion-dollar expense for the restoration of Lahaina, a once-idyllic town now scarred by the devastation. Firefighters have finally managed to make headway in containing the infernos that have claimed the lives of at least 80 individuals and razed entire communities. But officials have issued a cautionary note, expressing uncertainty about the exact count of missing persons. The ferocious blazes were stoked by the powerful winds emanating from Hurricane Dora hundreds of miles away from the shore. This disaster has emerged as the most fatal natural catastrophe in Hawaii since it became a US state in 1959. Follow our social media accounts here on facebook.com/ExpressUSNews and @expressusnews