Police yet to confirm missing boat

MOROBE police commander Chief Supt Jacob Singura says police are yet to confirm reports of a boat with passengers and cargo that went missing between Finschhafen and Lae earlier this week.
He said the boat left Lae on Monday heading for a church gathering in Finschhafen when it was reported as missing by Finschhafen police in rough seas with an unconfirmed number of passengers and cargo.
“I have received a text message from police station commander in Finschhafen about this mishap at sea, but we are not sure whether they are lost without a trace, drowned in the sea or survived, but there was a tragedy,” Singura said.
He said there had been regular warnings put out by the authorities regarding the risks of sea travel in bad weather.
“We understand that the only means of transport for many of our maritime villages in Morobe is by boat, but again, safety should be priority at all times,” he said.
He said people needed to take heed of weather warnings as travelling in small craft in rough seas had increased risks.
“Taking the risks should not be the focus.
“We are currently facing heavy rains and that has caused sea swells and roughness, people should not travel by sea at this time.”
He said it was an unfortunate situation for those that were on the boat at that time and that police were yet to get the actual number of casualties, if any.
Singura also cautioned people living along big rivers, mountain sides and those involved in alluvial mining to be weary of their environments.
“With the province experiencing continuous rains, accident may happen anytime and people living in these types of locations and doing their daily activities have to be safety conscious,” he said.
He said falling trees, landslips and rivers bursting their banks were real possibilities at this time and people needed to be careful.