A search and rescue operation for two missing fishermen from Hihifo, Niuatoputapu, was suspended by Tonga Police on Sunday, 11 October after their capsized fishing boat was found.

The two men aged 58 and 48 years had been reported missing since leaving Hihifo for a regular fishing spot on a reef some eight miles from the island on 6 October.

Deputy Police Commissioner Pelenatita Fe’ao said today that a P3 Orion aircraft from New Zealand had carried out an aerial search of the area on October 8-9 but nothing was sighted.

She said that HMAF’s vessel Voea Savea also arrived in the area on Friday, 9 October and found a capsized wooden fishing boat some 12 nautical miles south-west from a reef near Niuatoputapu, which was confirmed to have been the fishermen's boat. There was no sign of the men or anything that might have belonged to them apart from the boat.

“The Voea Savea continued the search up until Sunday, 11 October when we decided to suspend the search operation. Given the strong currents, the reality is their survivability is very slim,” she said.

She refuted a rumour on social networks that the two men had been found at Taveuni in Fiji. 

“We requested the Fiji Police for assistance and they confirmed this afternoon this is not true. They had checked with the hospital and confirmed no Tongans had been admitted and there was no record to verify the report of the two men in Taveuni,” she said.

Pelenatita asked the public to refrain from giving out misleading information.