Tongan ferry death toll set to rise

The Elones want to find missing family. Photo / Herald on Sunday

NUKU'ALOFA, Tonga - Police say the number of people missing and feared dead after a ferry capsized and sank off Tonga has risen to 93 - eight more than previously thought.

The number of passengers believed to have been on board was revised from 117 to 141 yesterday after it emerged that children and babies may not have been counted on the ship passenger list.

However police chief inspector Sokopeti To'ia told The Associated Press today that the latest count of those aboard the ill-fated ferry was now 149.

Of those, 54 were rescued and two bodies recovered, leaving 93 missing.

The confirmed dead were a British man living in New Zealand and a Polynesian woman.

To'ia says Navy divers from Australia and New Zealand arrived on Saturday to help comb the wreck for bodies, but were unable to locate the vessel in their first attempt.

The Princess Ashika went down around midnight on Wednesday while carrying passengers and cargo from the capital, Nuku'alofa, to outlying northern islands.

Auckland Tongan community members say at least one of the missing was a Tongan New Zealander.

New Zealand Navy ship HMNZS Manawanui set sail for Tonga yesterday to support rescue and recovery efforts after the inter-island ferry Princess Ashika sank on Wednesday.

The ship will act as a base for 15 Navy divers, already in Tonga, who are working with Australian and Tongan teams to locate and recover bodies.

The New Zealand team was using the Navy's underwater robot, Remus, to survey the ocean floor.

Commanding officer Andrew McMillan said the mood was sad. "We are talking about a huge number of people, this is a tragedy for the Tongan people."

A flight from Auckland to Tonga yesterday was crowded with people dressed in mourning black.

Auckland-based Milenita Vakauta, 36, was flying with other family in search of information about her brother, Veuveuso Elone. The 34-year-old father was on his way to his cousin's wedding with another cousin and their best friend, both also missing.

Vakauta said she hoped her brother, a lay minister and carpenter, was alive. "He could be drifting. Whatever happens, we hope we'll have some answers rather than not knowing - that's the hardest part."

Elone's mother, Alele Taina Elone, believed her son would survive: "People say he might be stuck inside the boat but I can trust my heart, he's still alive."

Manukau Mayor Len Brown was also on the flight in a delegation from his council. About 18,000 members of New Zealand's Tongan community live in the city.

An inter-church prayer service in Mangere, South Auckland, this evening is expected to draw up to 800 people.

Organiser Salote Lilo said immediate family of missing passengers will speak, as well as Pacific Affairs Minister Georgina Te Heu Heu, representatives of the Tongan royal family, church and community leaders.

The Niuean community will also attend to pray for the missing Niuean policewoman who was on holiday from the Solomon Islands.

Mixed with the grief was anger at reports the Tongan Government's shipping company knew the ferry was not seaworthy.

They were also angry at the decision of Tonga's King Tupou V to go on an extended Scottish holiday.

Among the dead was 48-year-old Scotsman Daniel MacMillan, who has lived in Christchurch for about nine years.

MacMillan's flatmate, Paul, said MacMillan was a keen gardener who loved the outdoors.

"I've lost my best mate and my flatmate. He was a cool, cool guy, a beautiful person."

Paul heard MacMillan had been killed when a journalist called him on Thursday night.

Concerns are mounting for a Czech couple living in Tauranga who are on holiday in Tonga. Bruce Goodchap employed Marek Zadek, 33, and Olivie Rydlo, 32, for odd jobs.

He and his wife Lucy have been calling backpacker accommodation to try to find the couple.

- with AP