Search Continues for Dozens Missing After Vanuatu Ferry Sinks

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Search efforts are underway in the waters off Vanuatu as officials continue to look for more than 30 people missing after a passenger ferry sank.

The MV Matui was en route between the islands of Ambae and Santo with 47 people on board when it went down on Friday, according to local news reports. Over the weekend, searchers aboard boats rescued 15 survivors from the water, the Prime Minister’s office announced in a statement on Sunday.

The statement also confirmed the recovery of one body, while more than 30 individuals remain unaccounted for. Authorities have shifted the focus of the search to coastal areas where ocean currents may have carried survivors, moving away from open waters.

“This loss appears to be due to strong winds and marine warnings being ignored, and potentially negligence such as overloading the vessel,” the statement added. The national meteorological service had issued a marine warning for strong winds and high seas on the day the ferry departed.

Vanuatu is an archipelago comprising 83 islands in the South Pacific, situated approximately 1,750 kilometers (1,090 miles) east of northern Australia.

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