Arabic version: استمرار عمليات انتشال الضحايا بعد مأساة القاربين في إيست نيو بريتن
According to ABC News, the search for 27 people missing after two boats capsized in rough seas off East New Britain has entered a recovery phase, with nine bodies found in neighbouring New Ireland Province. The boats had been returning from Pangpang Beach Resort, travelling from Pigeon Island to Kokopo, when they overturned in the Bismarck Sea shortly after 3pm on Saturday.
The only known survivors are the two boat operators, who drifted for six hours before reaching Baai village. Families, including young children, had been celebrating a birthday at the beach resort before beginning the return journey. Authorities said accounts from the operators pointed to dangerous sea conditions, while police dismissed speculation of piracy.
The first two bodies washed ashore on Djaul Island three days after the incident: a mother and her 18-year-old daughter, carried more than 200 kilometres north-west by ocean currents. Villagers found the mother during the day and the daughter later that night. Islanders gathered around the teenager’s body, sang hymns through the night and placed flowers on her before authorities collected her the following morning.
More bodies were recovered along New Ireland’s coast, including five on Thursday in the Tigak group of islands and another on Friday morning. More than 20 boats operated by police, disaster teams and local communities are searching coastlines and surrounding waters. New Ireland Governor Byron Chan said strong winds, rough seas and currents were complicating the work, and requested support from the Papua New Guinea Defence Force Navy.
East New Britain Governor Michael Marum said many of those lost came from the same families and villages, and described the disaster as among Papua New Guinea’s worst since the 2012 Rabaul Queen ferry sinking. The incident has renewed calls for stronger enforcement of maritime safety requirements, including GPS trackers and life jackets. The PNG National Weather Service has renewed strong-wind warnings across the Bismarck Sea and urged small vessels to remain ashore until conditions improve.
