Brit found dead after going missing while swimming in the Philippines

Tributes have been paid to the expatriate who moved from Brighton a decade ago.

A pensioner has drowned after vanishing while swimming in the Philippines.

Derek Arthur Silverthorne, 79, from Brighton, was seen unconscious in the water near the Bisucay island in Cuyo by a passing ferry.

He was last seen alive swimming in the sea on Saturday morning before he was found shortly before midday.

The expatriate, who was part of the local watersports association was wearing a rash guard diving top and flippers when officers retrieved him.

Coastguards attempted to revive him with CPR but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Bill’s Jimmy from the Cuyo Watersports Association described him as the ‘happiest person’ in an emotional tribute.

He said: ‘We still can’t believe what happened to him.

‘Bill was the happiest person I knew. He loved the sea and loved diving.

‘I cannot give any more details about how he died.’

Local businesswoman Daziella Young said on Sunday that Bill had been staying in the tropical country for more than a decade.

She said: ‘On our Island of Cuyo, Palawan, a British bachelor lived for more than 15 years since 2008 at our humble pension house.

‘For us, he was part of the family. He was our first-ever tenant.

‘We love you so much Bill, that it breaks my heart to know you left us so suddenly.’

The grieving friend said that Bill’s wake would be held in her home to follow the Englishman’s wishes.

She added: ‘His wake will take place at our home in Villa Gange, Catadman, Cuyo, Palawan.

‘We contacted his next of kin and the UK embassy because he wanted to be buried in his beloved Cuyo Island-his second home.’

A spokesman for the Coast Guard Eastern Palawan said: ‘Personnel of the Coast Guard Station Eastern Palawan (CGSEP) pulled up a foreign tourist from floating in the ocean after they received information about a floating body in the passage of the seafront.

‘The man was immediately given chest compression while running the route back to the port of Cuyo, Palawan, but he could not be revived.

‘Upon arrival at the said port, the man was immediately rushed to Cuyo District Hospital using the vehicle of the said station though he was declared ‘dead on arrival’ by the designated doctor.’

His funeral is still being arranged as Derek’s local friends coordinate with the embassy.

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