Many Tongans living in New Zealand are scrambling for the money and means to get home as they face an unbearable wait for news of loved ones missing since a ferry capsized off Tonga on Wednesday night.Authorities say 119 people were on board the Princess Ashika when it went down 86 kilometres of the coast of the Tongan capital Nuku'alofa. So far the bodies of two men have been r
ecovered and 64 people are still missing. Concerns have now been raised that the ferry - which was 30 years old - may not have been fit for use. Elisapeta Ofa flew up to Auckland from Christchurch this morning but there are no flights to Tonga today so she has to wait until tomorrow. Her mother, brother and sister were on board the ferry when it sank. Nothing has been heard of them since. "I just look down into the ocean and I just imagine, just wonder, looking at the face of my mum and my brother and my sister, wondering where they are because we don't know," she said. Ms Ofa says it has been difficult to get information about those missing. "It was just the waiting [to] hear about what's happening and just lucky that I have got brothers and sisters in the main island so they can actually just rush around and find out information from their friends," she said. Most of the missing are women and children who were asleep on the lower deck. Babies are also listed as missing. Ms Ofa is trying to stay strong for her father. Her missing sister is 23, her missing brother is 20 and has Down's syndrome.
ecovered and 64 people are still missing. Concerns have now been raised that the ferry - which was 30 years old - may not have been fit for use. Elisapeta Ofa flew up to Auckland from Christchurch this morning but there are no flights to Tonga today so she has to wait until tomorrow. Her mother, brother and sister were on board the ferry when it sank. Nothing has been heard of them since. "I just look down into the ocean and I just imagine, just wonder, looking at the face of my mum and my brother and my sister, wondering where they are because we don't know," she said. Ms Ofa says it has been difficult to get information about those missing. "It was just the waiting [to] hear about what's happening and just lucky that I have got brothers and sisters in the main island so they can actually just rush around and find out information from their friends," she said. Most of the missing are women and children who were asleep on the lower deck. Babies are also listed as missing. Ms Ofa is trying to stay strong for her father. Her missing sister is 23, her missing brother is 20 and has Down's syndrome.For further details visit as : http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/08/07/2649325.htm
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