Planes scour sea for life raft survivors

A second New Zealand Air Force plane flew to the area hammered by Cyclone Olaf last night to help in the search for six people still missing in a life raft.

As the first Royal New Zealand Air Force Orion was refuelling in Apia last night around 6pm, a second aircraft was leaving Whenuapai.

It was due to search the ocean around American Samoa after arriving around 10pm.

It would look for the life raft, possibly more missing boats and the source of three emergency beacons activated after Wednesday night's category-five storm.

One fishing vessel was found yesterday. Three of the six crew were injured, and a fishing boat was sent yesterday afternoon to assist.

The airforce Orion crew reported it had dropped a life raft to three people in the ocean about 5pm, but details of the rescue were sketchy.

Seven people from an American-registered fishing vessel were found late yesterday afternoon about 340km east of American Samoa.

The six missing people took to a life raft after being forced to abandon their fishing boat.

Their vessel sank on Wednesday night about 150km north of Samoa, but they are known to have food, water and life jackets. The Orion was to continue searching until about 6.30pm last night (NZT).

Boats in Apia and Pago Pago ports and four others at sea were also helping with the search.

Olaf was forecast to arrive in the Cook Islands late today or early Saturday, with the nation having already been pummelled by cyclones Nancy and Meena in the past two weeks.

Niue had also been put on alert.

New Zealand's High Commissioner to Samoa, John Adank, who is also consul-general to American Samoa, told NZPA yesterday Cyclone Olaf had largely passed north of Samoa the previous night.

"Samoa's been very, very lucky with the track the cyclone took," he said. "Overnight we had some gusts of high winds and tree branches have been coming down, but no trees that I've seen so far, large trees, as you would normally expect."

Western Samoans were counting their blessings after the storm, feared at one point to be the biggest in more than a decade, failed to live up to expectations.

Residents were listening to weather service updates yesterday afternoon (NZT), and shops and schools remained closed.

They were expected to reopen today, along with the high commission in Apia.

Holiday agent Tapu Tuailemafu, speaking from Apia, Samoa, said yesterday, that although the cyclone did not fulfil the dire predictions, the storm would still affect the nation's tourist trade "tremendously".

However, holidaymakers in Samoa when Olaf threatened were possibly a little disappointed to have missed out on its full impact, he said.

"It seems most of them like the idea of experiencing what a hurricane is like, so it is sort of positive for some of them to experience it in a foreign land."

The Australian Broadcasting Service was yesterday reporting the start of a clean-up operation in Western Samoa, as Olaf headed toward the Cook Islands.

No injuries were reported in American Samoa, though communications with the island of Manu'a were still down.

Cyclone Olaf directly hit American Samoa's Manu'a Islands early yesterday.

Damage was expected to be severe, though no deaths or serious injuries were reported, authorities said.

Cyclone update

* Found: Seven people from an American-registered fishing vessel late yesterday afternoon.

* Still missing: Six people who took to a life raft after being forced to abandon their fishing boat on Wednesday night.

* Forecast: Cyclone Olaf is expected to hit the Cook Islands late today or early on Saturday.

- additional reporting NZPA