Big Island firefighters yesterday found the body of a missing cruise ship employee who had disappeared five days before while swimming in an area commonly called Boiling Pots.

The man's body was found in the second pond of the Boiling Pots area, about 100 yards downstream from where 24-year-old Ryan Ritzel, a cruise ship employee from California, was last seen swimming.

"There are very strong currents there," Arbles said. "Ninety percent of the people who drown at Boiling Pots end up in the second pond."

Rescuers, searching by air, found the man's body floating on the surface of the Wailuku River at 9:30 a.m.

It took about two hours to rappel down a cliff to bring him out of the water, said Battalion Chief Aaron Arbles.