Sorsogon. INQUIRER FILES
LEGAZPI CITY — A 26-year-old police officer drowned after he was swept away by big waves while swimming in a surfing camp in Gubat town in Sorsogon on Easter Sunday, March 31.
Brigadier General Andre Perez Dizon, Bicol police chief, identified the victim as Patrolman Joseph Agnote, a resident of Barangay (village) Sogoy in Castilla town in the same province.
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Based on the initial investigation, Dizon said that while swimming at the Buenavista Surf Camp coastline in Barangay Buenavista at around 7:45 a.m., Ladin Lobosura noticed that his friend Agnote did not resurface after diving several times.
Big waves
Lobosura tried to look for Agnote, but he was also hit by the big waves and later rescued by the surfers nearby.
The Philippine Coast Guard personnel immediately responded and tried to revive Agnote while on the way to Gubat District Hospital.
Agnote was assigned to the Regional Mobile Force Battalion based in Legazpi City in Albay province.
The police advised the public about the hazards of swimming in the said surf area.