An Israeli tourist drowned on a beach in the Philippines.

Israel Yahalom, 74, washed ashore on Biliran island on May 20 morning.

Fishermen preparing to set sail found him floating near rocks and reported the discovery to police.

Footage shows cops and volunteers collecting the pensioner's body drifting face-down in the water. He had small abrasions on his face and head and was believed to have been dead for a few hours.

Police Captain Benigno Avila, acting chief of the Almeria Municipal Police Station, said: 'On May 20 morning, we received a report that there was a dead body on the shoreline of Barangay Matanggo.

'Based on the initial information, the deceased was a foreign national currently staying at the Soyin Resort. We suspect that he drowned, but we don't know if he drank alcohol because we are waiting for the report from the municipal health office.

'The beach is not too far from his lodging, more or less one kilometre away.

'We cannot say if there is foul play involved because we are still investigating.'

Locals said Israel was seen at the beach every day when he is on vacation in the Philippines.

Resort staff called the Coast Guard on May 19 evening after he failed to return to his room in the evening.

She said: 'He was last seen swimming at 11 am. But it was already past 6 pm and he still hadn't returned. We know that he usually comes home by sundown, so we were worried something was wrong.'

The Coast Guard launched a search in the evening, but failed to find Israel. They continued scouring the coastline until early Tuesday morning, when residents on a fishing boat found the tourist dead near the shore.

Scuba instructor Melo said: 'Before, he used to stay at the Agta Beach Resort, but when it got crowded, he went to the Soyin Resort. He's been visiting the island for 13 years since 2012. He comes every year, but he stopped during the pandemic, when the embassy arrived to fetch him. He only returned this year.

'He only just arrived. But last week, he was complaining about his right hip. That was the only thing that was off about him. But he is healthy, he doesn't have any vices. He just likes to swim.'

The Almeria Rural Health Unit declared that the cause of death was drowning.

Police said they were co-ordinating with the Israel Embassy to repatriate the pensioner's body.

Biliran Island in the Philippines is a popular tourist hotspot known for its idyllic white-sand beaches and diverse marine life.