MALIBU - A man who was fatally injured while kite surfing over the Pacific Ocean off Topanga State Beach was identified today.

Rescuers were called around 7:30 p.m. Monday to the 18700 block of Topanga Beach Road just off Pacific Coast Highway south of Malibu, said Lt. Robert Wiard of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Malibu/Lost Hills Station.

Dante Torres, 28, died at a hospital, said coroner's Assistant Chief Ed Winter.

A lifeguard who was watching Torres and another kite surfer around 7:15 p.m. saw the victim hit the water, Wiard said. Moments later, his rig became airborne, but the kite surfer stayed down.

"When the lifeguard paddled out, he found him face down in the water," Wiard said.

The lifeguard brought Torres to shore and performed CPR until Los Angeles County Fire Department paramedics arrived and took him to the hospital, Wiard said.