Catanduanes fisherman drowns as ‘Chedeng’ approaches

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines—Villagers fished out of the water the body of an old fisherman who went out to sea early Wednesday despite bad weather and rough seas churned up by typhoon Chedeng, police said Thursday.

The Philippine National Police identified the fatality, whose body was found floating some 20 meters away from shore in barangay (village) Peñafrancia in Gigmoto, Catanduanes, as Jaime Torillos, 79, married and a resident of barangay Biong in Gigmoto.

Senior Inspector Ayn Natuel, the regional police spokesman, said the victim was found by villagers floating 20 meters off the shore of Penafrancia on Wednesday.

Natuel said Torillos went fishing early Wednesday despite the bad weather.

The villagers who found him rushed Torrilos to the Gigmoto District Hospital but he was declared dead on arrival.