Police have named a Hala’ovave employee who went missing after a boat he was on capsized in rough waters at the entering channel in Mo’unga’one on Wednesday.
He is 32-year-old Tēvita Kolo.
As Kaniva News reported yesterday, the missing man was one of seven people on board a 22ft fibreglass cabin boat before it capsized at around 1.00pm.
Kolo was in Ha’apai to join workers who worked on a solar panels project in Mo’unga’one.
The six other passengers were rescued and brought to shore.
An ongoing search operation was coordinated by the people of Mo’unga’one and supported by the Ha’apai Police, a police spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, the missing Lofanga man who had been found alive by the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) yesterday has returned to his family.
He went missing after he had been travelling to pick up five other fisherman on Nukupule Island, about 16km away on Tuesday morning.
“He had a mobile phone but no communications and safety equipment on board.
“A policeman had advised the fisherman to postpone the trip because of the rough conditions, a spokesperson from the Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand said.”
