The Ports Authority Tonga have paid an emotional tribute to the man who died after he was killed this morning Wednesday 9.
An Emergency service spokesperson said the victim became trapped inside a shipping container.
However, a reliable source told Kaniva News the man was crushed between two containers.
The 46-year-old man from Ma’ufanga was found dead by co-workers.
The spokesperson said Police and Emergency Services attended the incident at 9.11am.
The man’s name has yet to be officially released.
A well-known Tongan pop musician, Sālesi Kaufusi, said he and the victim were founding members of the Polynesian Sunset Band in early 1990s.
Kaufusi said the deceased, who was the keyboardist, was known to him and their band members as Manu Pupui’one Fatafehi Sasakawa Vuna or None Koko.
He said they won many singing competitions in Tonga and toured the Pacific and the United Sates to raise funds for the Tonga National Music Committee.
They finally went to Australia and some of the band members, including Kaufusi, found work there.
Kaufusi said Vuna returned to Tonga because his mother was ageing.
He was a talented keyboardist, Kaufusi said.
A statement from the Ports Authority Tonga said it could confirm the deceased was an employee of Dateline Transam Shipping Ltd.
“Ports Authority Tonga would like to offer its heartfelt condolences to the family of the deceased and we pray that the love of our God enfolds the bereaved family during this very difficult time,” a spokesman said.
