Australia: Sixty Feared Dead in Tonga Ferry Sinking

The search for survivors is continuing after the Princess Ashika sent a distress call at about 11p.m. local time on Wednesday the 5th, but hopes of finding more people alive are fading.

Two people have been confirmed dead, with 53 rescued and at least 60 still missing.

Many of the missing are believed to be women and children who were asleep below decks when the ferry sank.

Relatives of those who haven’t returned are anxiously waiting for news.

One survivor explains how quickly the ferry sank.

[Pau Tupou, Survivor]:
„All the stuff, containers everything, was moved to one side and the ship starts to turn upside down. It is only one minute and the ship was gone.”

The Tongan prime minister says there is now little hope of finding more survivors.

[Feleti Vaka’uta Sevele, Tongan Prime Minister]:
„It’s quite huge for a nation of 100,000, a small place. It’s devastating so it’s not an easy time emotionally but we have to deal with it as best we can.”

The Tongan government has asked New Zealand and Australia to send divers to help recover bodies.

The relatives of Sisiliah Pulehelototo who went missing with the ferry gathered in family’s Auckland home to mourn. The 22-year-old police officer was taking a vacation in Tonga.

[Estioala Pihigia, Sisiliah’s Relative]:
„We don’t believe she is gone, if she can battle all the way to the Solomons throughout all these months, she can battle back to where we are now.”

The Royal New Zealand Airforce has also sent a plane to help search for survivors in the debris.

The cause of the ferry sinking is still under investigation.

Tongan officials say that 117 people were on board when it sank.

(NTDTV)