Former All Black mourns family members lost in ferry disaster

Former All Black Va'aiga Tuigamala says some of his wife's relatives were among those who perished in last week's tragedy. File photo / Martin Sykes

As Tonga gets to grips with the prospect of never recovering the bodies of loved ones lost in last week's ferry disaster, former All Black Va'aiga Tuigamala has revealed that he, too, has lost family members.

Tuigamala, who now works as an Auckland funeral director, said he is grieving the loss of his wife's aunt and her three children, among 93 people trapped on board the Princess Ashika when it sunk 86km northeast of the Tongan capital of Nuku'alofa.

Fifty-four people survived and only two bodies have been found.

Although there was a great deal of confusion in the days after the disaster, the family was now sure it had lost loved ones, Mr Tuigamala, 39, said.

"My wife has relatives on that boat and it is just so so sad. We are a close-knit family. My wife has been desperately trying to get hold of her cousin. Her mother (the cousin's mother) was among those lost," he told the Dominion Post.

"It is just so heart-wrenching, you cannot say goodbye. You cannot comprehend the thing."

The ferry went down in 110 metres of water, well beyond the 50m limit of divers, meaning it is likely the dead may never be recovered.

"Bringing your loved ones home is a huge issue for Islanders. It brings closure," Mr Tuigamala said.

"The more this carries on, the more difficult (it is)."

The estimated cost of any attempted recovery operation has been put at $25 million.

New Zealand Diving and Salvage managing director Dougal Fergus said diving beyond 50m required the use of an oxygen, helium and hydrogen mix and compression and decompression chambers.

Divers must spend at least two weeks in the chambers before the dive and the operation could take at least a month.

Adding the cost of the ship and crew would mean a bill of between $750,000 and $850,000 a day, pushing the total bill towards $25m.

Most of the 15-strong New Zealand navy team who had been searching for the sunken ferry were now heading home as there was nothing more they could do.

Mr Tuigamala and wife Daphne, who is Tongan, have decided against flying to Tonga because "family here need our presence".

The island nation would struggle to come to terms with the tragedy, he said.

"It will be an emptiness that forever blights Tonga and no counselling will ever bring back their loved ones. It will be etched in history that all these people passed away."

Meanwhile, Tonga's attorney-general has warned against speculation on the cause of the sinking as a Royal Commission gets under way.

The commission's hearings would allow the victims' and survivors' stories to be told in a sensitive and respectful way, he said.

He urged "restraint and temperance" in further public comment or speculation about matters which the Royal Commission was charged to cover.

- NZPA