An employee of a beach resort in Anda drowned in waters off the town amid harsh weather conditions and as Typhoon Ompong battered norther Luzon on Saturday morning.

The fatality, identified as Nathaniel Babao, an employee of the East Coast Beach Resort, was flushed into deeper parts of the sea by strong waves as he was wading in the shallow area with two companions at around 11 a.m., said PO2 Japeth Butihen of the Anda police based on their initial investigation.

Babao and his friends were only getting their feet wet and had no intention of swimming as it was prohibited due to bad weather.

Babao’s companions tried to save him using a life buoy but the strong current had already swept him away.

According to Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) chief Anthony Damalerio, Babao was not considered as among casualties of Typhoon Ompong as the province was not directly hit by the storm.

The incident also took place when the weather disturbance was already on its way out of the country, Damalerio said, noting that the province had zero casualty during the storm’s onslaught.

A rescue team from the Municipal DRRMO was deployed after Baboa’s friends reported the incident to authorities.

He was found floating in waters near a neighboring resort in Anda at around 2:30 p.m. on the  same day.

Authorities still rushed Babao to a hospital but he was declared dead on arrival.

According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration, Typhoon Ompong left the Philippine Area of Responsibility at 9 p.m. on Saturday.

However, even as the storm moved towards the southern part of China, it continued to enhance the southwest monsoon or hanging habagat. (A. Doydora)