In a letter to Kingdom of Tonga Prime Minister Feleti Sevele , Toribiong expressed his sympathies.
“During these exceptionally difficult times for your people as you mourn the deaths of those who died and console and give comfort to their surviving family members, relatives and loved ones our prayers and thoughts continue to be with families, people and government of the Royal Kingdom of Tonga,” Toribiong stated.Ninety-three people were missing and feared dead Sunday after Princess Ashika ferry flipped and sank off Tonga.According to internet news divers continued to try and locate the sunken vessel in the deep waters off the South Pacific nation.Associated Press report said that the latest count of those aboard the ill-fated ferry was 149, up from an earlier count of 141. Of those, 54 were rescued and two bodies recovered, leaving 93 missing. The confirmed dead were a British man living in New Zealand and a Polynesian woman.The ferry went down at midnight Wednesday while carrying passengers and cargo from the capital, Nuku’alofa, to outlying northern islands.
