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Surfer And Abalone Diver Die Off Mendocino Coast

FORT BRAGG (AP) -- Mendocino County Sheriff's deputies say a local surfer and an abalone diver died in the ocean over the weekend.

John Farrow, a 64-year-old retired construction worker and longtime surfer died Saturday while surfing with friends.

Other surfers found him floating and called for help. He was pronounced dead on the scene. Observers say the water wasn't rough that day, and Farrow's death might have been caused by a physical problem.

But officials say that on Sunday, when a 57-year-old San Bruno man died while abalone diving near Little River, conditions were dangerous.

The chief of the Mendocino Volunteer Fire Department said rough conditions prevented the man's partner from reaching him. He was pulled from the water by rescuers, but was pronounced dead at Mendocino Coast Hospital.

(© 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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