BFP Bicol regional director drowns in Albay

NAGA CITY – The regional director of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) in Bicol was found dead after he supposedly drowned in Legazpi City, Albay, Tuesday afternoon, police said.

The body of Fire Senior Superintendent Leonardo Prades, 55, a resident of Naga City in Camarines Sur and regional director of BFP Region 5, was found floating in the sea off Legazpi Boulevard in Barangay Puro at around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday by personnel of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) who were conducting physical fitness exercises in the area, said Superintendent Renato Bataller, Bicol police spokesman.

Bataller said that Petty Officer Enrique Cañeta, the detachment commander of PCG in Legazpi City, noticed the body floating near the shoreline while he was leading the physical exercises.

He added the PCG personnel immediately took the body to the city police headquarters where it was identified as that of Prades.

A Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) team, led by Inspector Wilfredo Pabustan Jr., processed the crime scene, Bataller said.

Initial investigation by the SOCO team revealed that Prades died of drowning, he said.

He added that investigators found no signs that might indicate that there was foul play or a struggle connected to the victim’s death.