Papua New Guinea authorities are managing several
separate cases of missing people due to boating incidents in
recent days.
East New Britain disaster officials
continue to search for up to 27 people missing since last
Saturday after their two boats capsized while travelling
from the Duke of York group to Kokopo.
As of late
Friday, 12 bodies had been found, on the south west coast of
neighbouring New Ireland province.
In another
incident, off New Ireland’s north, a search was underway on
Friday for six people missing after their boat
capsized.
And the Post Courier reports that
closer to PNG’s mainland, a search was underway on Friday
for about 8 passengers missing after a dinghy carrying a
casket capsized off Makamaka in Alotau District on
Thursday.
Bad weather in Bougainville hampers
search
Search and rescue efforts for a missing vessel
travelling from Nissan Island to Buka have been temporarily
suspended at sea due to deteriorating weather conditions
across the Bougainville region.
The Autonomous
Bougainville Government’s Directorate of Disaster and
Emergency said the National Weather Service and the Maritime
Rescue Co-ordination Centre have issued warnings of strong
winds, making sea-based search operations unsafe until
conditions improve.
The missing vessel left Nissan
Island for Buka on Saturday, 18 July, carrying three people
on board.
NBC Bougainville reports the missing
persons are skipper Mitchell Tokiapron, crew member Darrell,
and passenger Horen Kapiatu.
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Despite the suspension of
sea searches, the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre and
the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre continue to broadcast
alerts to all vessels operating in New Ireland
waters.
However, no confirmed sightings of the missing
boat have been reported.
The Autonomous Bougainville
Government has extended its thoughts and prayers to the
families of the three missing men and is urging the public
to avoid sharing unverified information on social media,
relying instead on official updates from
authorities.
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