HILO, Hawai'i — About 33,000 electric customers on the Big Island briefly lost power yesterday morning when generators in Hamakua and Kona unexpectedly tripped offline.

One of Hamakua Energy Partner's units tripped offline at 9:32 a.m., and Hawai'i Electric Light Co.'s CT-5 generator at the Keahole Power Plant also stopped producing power a short time later, HELCO said.

Reserve generators were started to produce more electricity, and power was restored to all customers by 10:06 a.m., HELCO said. The power company is investigating the cause of the blackout.

POWER OUTAGE HITS 16,000 ON MAUI

KAHULUI, Maui — An unplanned generator shutdown yesterday at Maui Electric Co.'s Ma'alaea power plant cut electricity to 16,000 customers around the island.

The power failure occurred at about 2:45 p.m., affecting the areas from Makawao to Hana, Spreckelsville to Ku'au, Wailuku Heights, Waiehu and parts of Napili and Kihei. MECO officials said electricity was restored to some areas within a half-hour, and to most of the other customers within an hour and eight minutes. However, about 220 customers in Hana were still without power at 6 p.m.

The problem began when one generator shut down, causing a second to trip off when it tried to pick up the load, MECO said.

OUTLOOK GOOD FOR REVIVED WOMAN

A 58-year-old woman visiting from Korea is expected to make a full recovery after nearly drowning this morning at Hanauma Bay.

Bryan Cheplic, spokesman for the city Department of Emergency Services, said city lifeguards pulled the unconscious woman from the water at about 10:45 a.m.

"Ocean Safety personnel performed CPR on her and were able to restore and pulse and breathing before our EMS (Emergency Medical Services) people arrived at the scene," Cheplic said.

He said the woman was reported to be in serious but stable condition upon her arrival at The Queen's Medical Center.

REEF DAMAGE OFF MOLOKINI STUDIED

KIHEI, Maui — State aquatics officials are investigating reef damage caused by a Maui Dive Shop tour boat that sank off Molokini Crater on Sept. 29.

The 32-foot Kai Anela sank in about 30 feet of water after rope or other floating material was sucked into its jet engine, the company said. The 15 passengers and crew aboard the vessel were rescued within three minutes by another tour boat and a Coast Guard boat.

The Kai Anela was refloated yesterday and brought to shore. The Coast Guard reported there were no signs of pollution or debris in the water.

Skippy Hau of the state Division of Aquatic Resources said staff went into the ocean Thursday and yesterday to document scarring to the coral. He would not comment on the extent of damage because the investigation in continuing. He said he will forward information to Department of Land and Natural Resources officials to decide if further action is warranted.

The waters around Molokini are a marine conservation district.

SUSPECT IN HILO ROBBERY SOUGHT

HILO, Hawai'i — A man with a pistol entered offices on the Hawai'i Community College campus in Hilo yesterday and robbed workers there, police said.

Police said the man received an undisclosed amount of cash, and was last seen running toward Kawili Street.

Witnesses described the robber as in his early 20s, 5 feet 8, 130 pounds to 140 pounds. He had a tan complexion, short, dark hair and a thin moustache. He was last seen wearing a white long-sleeved shirt and denim shorts, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Richard Sherlock at (808) 961-2379 or the police nonemergency number at (808) 935-3311.

Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call CrimeStoppers at (808) 961-8300 in Hilo or (808) 329-8181 in Kona. All CrimeStoppers information is kept confidential.