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Windsurfer, 77, dies at Kanaha

A 77-year-old windsurfer was pronounced dead after he was found unresponsive and brought to shore at Kanaha Beach Park on Saturday, a fire official said.

Police identified the man as Frank Beecher Wooding of Haiku.

Two men were bringing the unresponsive windsurfer toward the shoreline at 1:06 p.m. Saturday when a lifeguard operating a rescue watercraft picked up the man and took him to the beach, said acting fire Ocean Safety Battalion Chief Jeffrey Giesea.

He said lifeguards and Kahului firefighters performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation and used an automated external defibrillator to try to revive the man, working with medics until resuscitation efforts were ended at 1:45 p.m.

The man had been windsurfing in surf that was flat to 1 foot high with 15- to 25-mph trade winds creating choppy conditions, Giesea said.

He said officials are unsure of what caused the man to become unresponsive in the water.

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