BY JENNIFER KUSAPA
SEVEN people including an Anglican Priest are still missing at sea.
They were reported lost between Isabel and Buenivesta in the Central Islands province on the afternoon of July 10, 2021.
Reports said about 20 boats left Sepi on the morning of July 10 around 11am and travelled to Nagotano Buenavesta in Ngella for the Chiefs Convention that is underway this week.
One of the boat drivers who transported the chiefs told this paper that they were all travelling together when they left Sepi village on Saturday, however on their way out in the ocean that particular boat took a different route away from the rest of the boats.
“The sea was rough and everyone of us are travelling together but I don’t know why that boat travelled further out from our direction.
“It was at our arrival and the day started getting dark we realized that the boat hasn’t arrived and it was at that time, every one started to do the search, but unfortunately not managed to locate them”, the driver said.
He also said it was a sad scenario for such to happen to one of the boats and the people inside are also the chiefs and elders of the community.
Reports also said the boat carried seven people, one woman, an Anglican priest and four other chiefs and the boat driver all elderly people.
Some chiefs from the village that the missing people were from returned yesterday to Isabel to be with their community and families of those missing.
Meanwhile police in Isabel Province are investigating this matter.
