A Tongan mother in New Zealand has been remembered by her kāinga and friends as “the most helpful, caring and loving person” following her death this afternoon.

Police said the woman in her 40s has died following a water-related incident at Auckland’s Maraetai Beach this afternoon.

Emergency services were dispatched to the isolated location around 3.30pm.

A witness reportedly described hearing “lots of sirens driving through” and said paramedics appeared to be trying to resuscitate somebody.

“Attempts to resuscitate the woman were unsuccessful and she died at the scene.”

It is understood, Hato Hone St John sent an ambulance, rapid response unit and first response unit to the scene after being called at 3.17pm.

A rescue helicopter was also dispatched.

A Fire and Emergency NZ spokeswoman confirmed fire crews were helping Hato Hone St John with the incident, saying they were called at 3.20pm.

Meanwhile, the Tongan online community in New Zealand took to Facebook to express their shock at the fatal incident.

A commenter reported after attending the scene.

“We were there. We did everything to pull her out. The sea currents were coming so strong such a tragic loss condolences to her husband and babies who witnessed this tragedy”, the commenter wrote.  

“I got to her son bringing him out of the hands of a young man who was struggling as well while my partner is trying to help the other man fighting the waves as he tried to hold her up”.

“Oh what a tragic loss I really feel for her children”, another wrote.

Kaniva News understand the woman is survived by her husband and four children.

Tonga Women Rugby League authority is under fire after Fiji men and Tonga women were involved in a mixed-gender training session, causing some to express concerns about the unusual arrangement.

Foxsports reported last week that “Fiji’s men’s team have used an unconventional opposed session with the Tongan Women’s team as they prepare for their Pacific Championships clash with Papua New Guinea”.

It alleged that a Tongan official had asked “for an opposed session with the men, and Fiji officials agreed.”

Samoa ended Tonga’s World Cup hopes last week with a 30-16 Pacific Championships win at HFC Bank Stadium in Suva.

However, the Tongan Independent webpage has criticised the move, stating it goes against young women’s dignity and Tongan culture and traditions.

The criticisms mentioned an incident in 2018, when an official directive from Tonga’s Ministry of Education reportedly prohibited female students at the country’s state school from participating in rugby and boxing. However, women’s rights activists strongly criticised the letter, saying it was “archaic” and “backwards.”  

The Tonga Independent reported that the recent session had faced extensive criticism from members of the Tongan online community.

Foxsports said Bulldogs star Kikau revealed that the different training methods worked well for both sides.

“It’s obviously a bit weird but it was really good,” Kikau said.

“The Tongan coach was telling us to go hard, tackle and get some time on the ground.

“They were really good talkers and were loud the whole session. They helped us a little bit and hopefully we helped them in their preparation for this weekend.”

The head-to-head training session went for nearly 40 minutes with onlookers surprised at the competitive collisions between the men and the women, Foxsport said.

Tonga co-captain Natasha Penitani, who plays NRLW for Wests Tigers was excited by the challenge of facing the male players.

“It was really amazing for the men to let us have an opposed session against them,” Penitani said.

Tongan officials could not be reached for comment.

Law enforcement officials in Tonga said they have arrested a person and recovered a victim during a human trafficking bust last week.

The report comes after the US State Department raised concerns about the lack of a prevention plan in Tonga to combat all forms of trafficking and support and protect victims.

The following year, Tonga launched its first action plan to combat human trafficking.

The victim is being assisted to return to their home country while the accused trafficker was remanded to be held in police custody.

Reports have revealed that Tonga’s Technical Working Group (TWG) for Trafficking in Persons (TIP) has uncovered a human trafficking case, resulting in the arrest of the accused.

Tonga police had been involved.

The TWG, with support from USAID Pacific RISE-CTIP, coordinated efforts to assist the victim, offering meals, temporary shelter, transportation, counselling, and ensuring the victim’s safe return to their home country.

As Kaniva News reported in 2022, Tonga has not done enough to combat people trafficking and would remain on an American watch list, according to the US State Department’s annual report.

Since convicting its first trafficker in April 2011, the government has not prosecuted or convicted any traffickers, the State Department said.

Sex workers

Tongans working overseas were vulnerable to labour exploitation. However, it also said that Asian workers in Tonga were vulnerable to labour exploitation and being forced to become sex workers.

East Asian women, especially those from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), who were recruited from their home countries for legitimate work in Tonga were vulnerable to sex trafficking

They often paid excessive recruitment fees and sometimes ended up as sex workers in clandestine establishments operating as legitimate businesses.

Reports indicated that Fijians working in the domestic service industry in Tonga experienced mistreatment typical of labour trafficking.

Tongans working overseas, including in Australia and New Zealand, were vulnerable to labour trafficking, including through withholding of wages and excessive work hours.

 UPDATED: A toddler is dead after drowning in a flooded pit at Popua on Sunday, police said.

The Police responded to a report received on Sunday, October 13, 2024 at approximately 1.45pm.

“The preliminary investigations indicated that the incident involved a little boy, aged 1 year and 8 months old, who was playing with his siblings near an unfinished ground hole filled with rainwater”, a police statement said.

“When his older brother noticed he was nowhere to be seen, they began searching for him.

“It was explained that about half an hour later, he found his brother’s body floating in the water hole just behind their home.

“Efforts were made to pull him out and call for help, but it was too late.

It said emergency services and an ambulance arrived at the scene around 2.15PM.

“The medical personnel confirmed the little boy’s death and was transported to Vaiola Hospital.

The police are investigating the circumstances surrounding this tragic suspected drowning incident.

“Tonga Police would like to remind and advise the community to be safe in their surroundings. It is important for parents and guardians to stay alert and ensure the safety of your children during bad weather. It is also advised to say away from flooded streets and encourage your children to stay indoor during a heavy rain”.

A car has crashed on the same stretch of main road a double cab ute collided with a tree and killed a man yesterday Saturday 12.

Tongan correspondent Faka’osi Maama shared a livestream video of the incident on his Facebook account.

As Kaniva News reported yesterday, Penisimani Tu’ungafasi, an employee at Fua’amotu airport, died after the ute he was in crashed on the roadside of Taufa’āhau Rd in Pelehake.

The Pelehake crash this afternoon was the third of three vehicle crashes that occurred within hours today. All three hit power poles, causing various outages on Tonga’s main island, Tongatapu.

The crashes have kept Tonga Power electricians busy since this morning.

The company said that about three separate crashes into power poles had occurred in Kolomotu’a, Longoteme, and Malapo.

No injuries were reported in the three Sunday crashes.

In its alert following the first accident, the company said a vehicle hit a power pole in Longoteme.

“Please be advised that there is currently a temporary power outage affecting your areas due to a vehicle hitting one of our power poles in Longoteme”, it said.

“Our technical team is currently addressing the situation, and we anticipate restoring power within the next two hours.

“We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience as we work to resolve the issue.

Thank you for your patience and understanding”.

In its second alert, it said a vehicle crashed into a power pole at Kolomotu’a.

It said: “Please be advised to customers in the areas of kolomotua including areas of sopu and isileli due to an accident to one of our power poles at sopu area we will turn off power to your areas to allow for repair and maintenance to the broken power pole. The emergency power outage is planned for 1:30pm to 5pm today”.

The third accident in Pelehake caused an outage starting from Malapo to Fua’amotu.

“Please be informed that power supply to your areas will be temporarily interrupted today, Sunday, 13th October 2024, at approximately 8:00 p.m. This outage is necessary to allow our linesmen to replace a damaged power pole caused by an accident in Pelehake.

“Once the repairs are complete, power will be restored without further notice.

“We once again apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding”.