A 32-year-old man apparently drowned yesterday afternoon while swimming near Kailua Beach, police said.

The man was swimming with friends toward Flat Island about 2 p.m. when he became separated from his companions.

His body was found a short time later floating face down in the water near the Kailua Beach Park shoreline. Efforts to revive him were unsuccessful, police said.

An autopsy has been scheduled.

THREE ARRESTED IN MAKIKI STABBING

Police have arrested three people in connection with a stabbing in Makiki.

Police said the three males — ages 15, 18 and 27 — were arrested late Thursday night following a fight and stabbing that left one man in serious condition with a knife wound and another man with minor cuts.

One suspect was found hiding in bushes near the scene of the fight; two others were arrested as they tried to run away, police said.

Police were investigating possible charges of attempted murder, second-degree assault and terroristic threatening.

RESCUED SEAL PUP PUTS ON WEIGHT

A baby monk seal abandoned by its mother on a remote north Kaua'i beach has gained at least a pound during a week of care by specialists on O'ahu, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said yesterday.

"The pup continues to hold his own and weighs in at just under 33.5 pounds," NOAA spokeswoman Wende Goo said.

Officials recovered the newborn pup May 2 after it was reported abandoned.

The pup is being kept in quarantine at the Marine Mammal Center at Kewalo Basin.