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Man Monitoring Surfing Event Collapses in Water, Dies: Lifeguards

A 63-year-old man died after he collapsed in the water while monitoring a surfing event at in La Jolla, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office. 

The surfer, identified by the medical examiner's office as Hawaiian Francis Noe Todd, was participating in a University of California, San Diego Heart Cancer fundraiser event Sunday before noon. The event took place near the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. 

One moment, he was on the surfboard, lifeguards said, and the next he was found face down in the water. 

Lifeguards said they pulled the man out of the ocean and began to perform CPR on the beach. 

Officials said they believe the man collapsed due to a medical emergency, caused by an existing medical condition. 

When the man did not regain his pulse, emergency crews took him to Scripps La Jolla Hospital. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. 

No other information was immediately available.

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