Ferry sinks off the coast of Tonga.Summary: Over 20 people are still missing after the Princess Ashika overturned last night. A major sea search is under way after a ferry carrying 79 people has sunk near Tonga Tonga (tŏng`gə), officially Kingdom of Tonga, island kingdom (2005 est. pop. 112,000), 270 sq mi (699 sq km), South Pacific, c.2000 mi (3,220 km) NE of Sydney, Australia. Tonga is the only surviving independent kingdom in the South Pacific. . Ships and airplanes are trawling For fishing by dragging a baited line after a boat, see . Trawling is a method of fishing that involves actively pulling a fishing net through the water behind one or more boats, called trawlers. the South Pacific waters for survivors Survivors was a British television series devised by Terry Nation and produced by Terence Dudley at the BBC from 1975 to 1977. It concerned the plight of a group of people who had survived an accidentally released plague that had killed nearly the entire population of the who were on board the Princess Ashika. The boat overturned around midnight on Wednesday about 54 miles northeast of the Tongan capital, Nuku'alofa. Ross Ross , Sir Ronald 1857-1932. British physician. He won a 1902 Nobel Prize for proving that malaria is transmitted to humans by the bite of the mosquito. Henderson, spokesman for Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand New Zealand (zē`lənd), island country (2005 est. pop. 4,035,000), 104,454 sq mi (270,534 sq km), in the S Pacific Ocean, over 1,000 mi (1,600 km) SE of Australia. The capital is Wellington; the largest city and leading port is Auckland. said:"We have now recovered 53 people. They are safe and well, they are on board one of the search vessels that is heading back to Ha'afeva, which is one of the islands in the area." He told New Zealand's National Radio that 42 people were rescued from life rafts and another 14 had been pulled from the ocean by three vessels searching for survivors. Search teams say they remain hopeful of recovering people as soon as they can. The weather is being described as moderate while the sea temperature was estimated at 25 degrees celsius. It is not known what caused the ferry to sink. Independent Television News Limited 2009. All rights reserved. Independent Television News Limited 2009. All rights reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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