A 54-year-old British national who was found dead at a home in Lifuka, Ha'apai, last week is believed to have taken her own life.

Police Commander Chris Kelley today said that the Ha'apai Police conducted an investigation last week into the death and an inquest completed on Friday, December 3, concluded that the woman took her own life.

Cmdr Kelley said that the British national had been a resident of Tonga for a number of years, but had been residing in Ha'apai for only a few months. The name has not been released.

Meanwhile, other sources in Ha'apai said that the woman known as "Laura" had previously owned a beach resort in Niuatoputapu that was destroyed by a tsunami in 2009 and she had recently moved to Ha'apai to find a new location to rebuild.