The number of people missing after the tragic sinking of the MV Princess Ashika in the Tongan waters has risen again.
The missing number of people is now 64 as Tongan Police have received confirmation that there were 119 people on board.
This is the worst ferry disaster ever in the Pacific region and people of Tonga are still in a state of shock as rescuers desperately search for the people still missing after the MV Princess Ashika sank late Wednesday night.
The worry and the sad news continue to unfold from the island kingdom today.
So far two bodies have been recovered and 53 people have been rescued alive.
Tongan Police Commander Chris Kelly said he cannot explain why only men have been rescued but there may have been a shift change happening, which would account for all the crew being on deck.
He said of those missing, 23 are men, four of them crew members, 21 are women, and 7 are children, with the rest yet to be identified.
But people are still hoping for the best.
Elisapeta Tahahau Ofa, whose 63 year old mother and younger brother and sister were onboard the Princess Ashika and are yet to be found, said she is trying to remain strong.
We now cross over to Radio Tonga News Editor Nanise Fifita who is currently on the ground in Nuku'alofa.
Fifita told us that the ship sank within minutes and the women and children were trapped inside.
Fifita said the MV Princess Ashika was declared seaworthy but concerns are being raised that the vessel was only built and used for inland waters, not the open seas.
Some survivors have said that two big waves hit the ship which resulted in the sinking.
Meanwhile, the Tongan National Centre for Women and Children's Ofa Guttenbeillikiliki said people are desperate for information.
She said it is common knowledge that the Princess Ashika, which was brought to replace another ferry, was far from seaworthy.
She said the vessel was an accident waiting to happen.
However, Tongan Prime Minister,Doctor Feleti Seveli stressed that the vessel was declared seaworthy.
A survivor of Tonga's ferry disaster said the vessel rolled so quickly in rough seas that women and children sleeping below decks had no chance to escape.
According to the operations officer for the Tongan Navy Daniel Tuita, the crewman said the captain of the Princess Ashika had warned of rough seas approaching with less than a minute's notice.
He said a very short minute after the captain warned them, they tried to yell out to the people inside but the accident happened so suddenly.
All the women and children were inside, sleeping and taking refuge from the rough seas while the men were outside smoking and lying on the deck.
Tuita quoted the crewman as saying that when the accident happened, unfortunately those who were safe inside were the first to go down.
One of the survivors Siaosi Lavaka, whose mother is among the missing, said he woke to find the ferry rocking violently and waves breaking over the lower deck.
He said the rocking apparently moved cargo to one side of the ferry, unbalancing it and turning it over.
Missing numbers rise
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