Tonga sinking leaves 30 missing
06.07.2009
About 30 people remain missing after a ferry sank off the
Pacific island nation of Tonga.
The ferry, carrying at least 86 people, sank about 86km (54 miles)
north-east of the capital, Nuku'alofa, as it travelled to outlying islands.
Two people, including one Briton, are confirmed to have died and the search
for survivors is continuing overnight.
Fifty-three people were rescued after the Princess Ashika sent a Mayday call
about 2300 local time.
The dead British man has been named by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth
Office as Dan MacMillan, 48, who had been living in New Zealand.
The FCO said Mr MacMillan's family had been informed and were being offered
consular assistance.
It is not yet clear why the ferry sank but there are suggestions that cargo
in its hold may have been dislodged, destabilising the vessel.
Tongan officials said at least 86 passengers and crew were on the vessel when it sank.
Tonga (1) -- Analyses -- 2009
No choice
06.07.2009
Tonga consists of 170 islands dotted over an area of 748 sq km (289 sq miles),
and is heavily reliant on ferries.
The cargo on board included a new ambulance and vehicles for the hospital
serving the Vava'u island group, a spokesman for the Shipping Corporation
of Polynesia said, according to AFP news agency.
Pesi Fonua, editor of Matangi Tonga, said the ferry had been temporarily
providing a service until a new Japanese vessel took over in 2011, and that
Tongans had been nervous about using it.
"People had no choice but to use it because there's no other boat and they
certainly don't have the money to fly," the Herald Sun newspaper
quoted him as saying.
New Zealand has international marine rescue responsibilities for a large
part of the Pacific Ocean, including Tongan waters.
Bulgarian