A man news reports say was an off-duty firefighter died Sunday morning while competing in a triathlon in Cape May County, officials said.
CBS Philly reported the man was an off-duty Philadelphia firefighter. An employee at the Philadelphia Fire Department, who declined to be identified, confirmed that a firefighter had died at the event.
The man had nearly completed the swimming portion of the Escape the Cape Triathlon event held in Lower Township when he was found unresponsive in the water by an event volunteer stationed near the course, according to Jim Salmon, a spokesman for the Delaware River and Bay Authority.
The cause of death was of an “apparent cardiac arrest,” Salmon said, but he declined to identify the man, saying family members had yet to be notified.
The man was carried to the beach in Lower Township near David Douglass Sr. Memorial Park where attempts were made to resuscitate him, Salmon said.