A boat got in trouble and ran aground near Tonga’s Nomuka island in the Ha’apai group this afternoon.
A government spokesperson said the 14 meter long boat was on its way from Pangai with shipments of shopping, bottles of LPG gas and five 200-litre drums of diesel.
Information CEO Paula Ma’u said MV Late transported the cargos from Nuku’alofa to Pangai, Ha’apai so that they could be quarantined there for 72 hours before sending them to Nomuka.
No reports of injuries or death.
The boat appeared to have been overloaded and an attempt to speed up the process of bailing seawater was failed, Ma’u told Kaniva News.
Ma’u said four 200-litre drums of diesel for Nomuka’s electricity and one for the Tonga Hou’eiki church were rescued together with some bottles of gas.
Rescuers also retrieved some of the shopping shipments with some which had been damaged as well as some of the cargos which intended for the Nomuka hospital.
The drums of diesel for the island’s power were sent by the government.
Some of the cargos were donated by MP Veivosa Taka, Ma’u said.
The boat was towed to Nomuka after the incident and it is expected to be repaired shortly before returning to Pangai for further maintenance, Ma’u said.
Nomuka was one of the hardest hit islands when the January 15 volcanic eruption triggered a deadly tsunami which had killed a 49-year-old woman on the island.
The up to 15-metre tsunami waves also caused extensive damage to the island, where around 400 people live.
