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Rocco Piganelli was on vacation with his family in Maui when he took the above photo last Saturday, July 9th. Moments after the photo was snapped the man seen at the far right was knocked down by a wave and vanished into the blowhole, never to return.
The body of 44-year-old David Potts of San Anselmo has not been seen since the event.
After Piganelli, of La Jolla, snapped the photo of his daughter and her friends a wave hit Potts, who was dancing about near the blowhole, and swept him away.
"We all stared for like 30 seconds and then I realized -- he's gone. He's down there," he told the AP. "I felt like I was going to throw up."
The blow hole, a product of beach erosion and the effect of water and air streaming through to create a geyser-like effect with each incoming wave, is located at Nakalele Point on Maui.
Though it is a popular tourist attraction, there is no overt signage warning of the dangers of the blow hole, Maui Department of Fire and Safety Chief Allen Duarte said Thursday, according to the SF Chronicle Only a makeshift wooden sign reading: "Blowhole Park And Walk At Your Own Risk."
