Detectives in Tonga have launched a new investigation after a house fire in Vava’u’s Neiafu town claimed a woman’s life.
Deputy Police Commissioner Tevita Vailea said Police from Tongatapu were expected to arrive in Vava’u this week to conduct another investigation after concerns raised with them by the family of the victim, Tu’imala Uinisē Moala.
The Tongan Police previously said an inquest determined that the 46-year-old woman died from smoke inhalation and severe burning in a house fire at Neiafu.
Her body was laid to rest Wednesday last week, a day after her death.
Police said Moala and her husband were in the third floor of the three-storey building before the husband escaped the inferno by jumping from the rooftop.
In a statement Police said: “At around midnight on Monday, 7 November, they went to bed on the third floor of the house only to be awakened by a loud cracking sound from downstairs. When they opened their bedroom door, the flames had already engulfed the building, leaving them no way out but to tear down another door and climb to the rooftop. From the rooftop, they tried and jumped to the deck on the second floor.”
“In trying to escape the extreme flames, the husband held his wife’s hand so that they could jump down to the ground, but she let go of his hand because she was too terrified to jump. When the husband reached the ground, he called out for help and a male neighbour rushed over with a ladder but unfortunately, it was too short to reach the second floor. Both the husband and the male neighbour urged her to jump, and they would catch her, but she refused as she was confused, panicked, and terrified, and in the end, the fire caught up with her.”
Moala’s family said that livestreamed videos taken at the scene and shared to Facebook on the day of Moala’s death held some key information about what they thought would explain more about the cause of her death.
A young brother of Moala reportedly said on Facebook they were conducting their own independent investigation and have contacted New Zealand police.
As Kaniva News reported last week, Moala was born in New Zealand.
“The enquiry is now in the hands of a trusted NZ Senior Detective, who understands the complexities of Tonga’s systems and able to escalate the matter with the proper NZ Authorities in Tonga”, according to a media release posted to Facebook last week by the family.
It said the family have launched their own enquiries with the Tonga Police to acquire the information that prompted their official report and conclusions.
“We are continuing to follow this up and we won’t stop until we get to the bottom of this.
“Thank you to everyone that has shared information with us thus far, you are all greatly appreciated. Malo aupito!
“Our Sister deserves a thorough investigation and we are demanding nothing less than the whole Truth”.
