Sisters from American Canyon save woman's life while vacationing in Hawaii

AMERICAN CANYON, Calif. (KTVU) - A Hawaiian vacation for an American Canyon family suddenly turned into a life-saving and upsetting experience.

It happened two weeks ago to the day -- on Wednesday, September 11.

Drone video shows a woman with pink flippers snorkeling on popular Hanauma Bay on the island of Oahu. Moments later, Janessa Samodio began noticing her from the beach.

"Her snorkel was going in and out of the water. And I thought it was weird because the water was 2 to 3 feet deep," said Janessa.

She told her sister Adriauna, who was celebrating her 18th birthday that day.

The two sisters ran into the water to check on her. She wasn't breathing.

"Her arms were kind of hanging there. She wasn't kicking. I thought that was a sign something was wrong," said Janessa.

A passerby performed CPR and the woman began breathing again. An ambulance rushed her to the hospital in serious condition.

Hawaiian authorities won't say how the woman is doing or what happened in the water. But the sisters are glad they were able to help.

"It's pretty amazing we can say we saved somebody's life," says Janessa.

But it's a bittersweet experience.

"Right after, I broke down," said Adriauna. "It's traumatic for sure to go through that. But we were fortunate to save that lady's life."

It is unclear what caused the snorkeler to lose consciousness.

While that woman may have survived, Hawaiian officials say the number of deaths from snorkeling in that state has nearly doubled in the past five years.

31 people died in Hawaii in snorkeling-related accidents last year. Another 40-50 people survived but required emergency medical services.

Some of those deaths have been blamed on full-face snorkeling masks where snorkelers inhale carbon dioxide from their own breath and pass out.

But the sisters say the woman they rescued was not wearing that type of mask.

Diving experts say novice snorkelers should receive some training before getting into the water.

"Even a mask that is good could potentially be misused. And the person might not understand they're misusing it by not making a proper seal around the nose and mouth," says Kevin Osborne, owner of the Anchor Shack dive shop in Pacheco.

The sisters say what happened won't keep them from returning to Hawaii some day.

"I'm so thankful we were ready for that experience," says Adriauna.