Vanuatu authorities have been searching for survivors after an inter-island ferry carrying 34 passengers and 11 crew members sank in critical weather conditions.
Seven people have been rescued, with an estimated 38 people still unaccounted for, as boats and a flying doctor plane search for more survivors 24 hours after the vessel sank in the north of the country on Friday (local time).
Police told national broadcaster VBCTC that MV Matui sank in rough seas on Friday while sailing between the islands of Ambae and Santo.
Police said one survivor made it to shore on the island of Santo, where a diver took him to the local community for help.
A video showing the man, named Jefferson, covered in a blanket and being offered a cup of hot tea has been shared widely on social media.
“We floated to Ambae, but the tide was too strong … I swam … until I ended up here (Santo),” he said.
There were also calls for communities on the coast of the Ambae Islands to keep an eye out and help possible survivors as the search continues.
Former foreign minister Matai Seremaiah, who was aboard the vessel LC Mahalia, rescued a number of survivors.
He posted on Facebook that two additional survivors had been spotted by a plane, though darkness made retrieval difficult.
Flying Doctor Mark Turnbull used his plane to drop life jackets and helped locate survivors for rescue vessels.
Terry Ngwele, harbour master of Luganville on the island of Santo – who was on another rescue vessel – said the search would continue tomorrow.
“We rescued two people today,” he told ABC News.
ABC has sought comment from the Vanuatu government, police and Vanuatu’s Maritime Safety Authority.
