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Family and friends of a New Zealand couple killed in Tonga are fundraising to have their bodies returned home.
Tongan authorities have confirmed more details of the tragedy after Ben and Rochelle Neill were found dead on Saturday afternoon.
Deputy Police Commissioner Tevita Vailea said yesterday that a formal inquest was carried out over the weekend after the discovery. It was ruled the couple died by electrocution and that it was likely accidental.
The couple were buried immediately after the inquest on the advice of a medical doctor, Vailea said.
New Zealanders Ben and Rochelle Neill have been identified as the couple who died on their boat in Vava'u in Tonga. Photo / Givealittle
Now their families and friends have set up a Givealittle fundraising page in a bid to get their loved ones brought back to New Zealand.
'Something went terribly wrong'
"Please help us bring Rochelle and Ben home so they can rest in peace in their own country and friends and family are able to visit them," a post on the page says.
Many people who have donated already have included messages of love and support for the couple, who were well-liked on the island.
A relative of Rochelle's started the fundraising effort to help raise the money needed to repatriate the bodies as well as helping to pay for a memorial or funeral once they are here.
Hakau Adventures boat in the Vava'u Islands, Tonga owned and operated by New Zealand ex-pats Ben and Rochelle Neill. Photo / Supplied
She said the couple, who owned a local tourism business, had been working on their boat when something went "terribly wrong".
"After two years of the pandemic decimating their tourist business, getting through the Tongan volcano eruption and being currently in one of the strictest lockdowns in the world, Rochelle and Ben were trying to plan for the future.
"They were repairing their tourist boat - hoping to sell it to try to raise the money to come home - when something went terribly wrong and they died instantly."
The relative said due to the island nation's current Covid lockdown, it took a week for their bodies to be found by a friend.
The page has a target of $25,000. However, it is understood that is the lower end of the scale, the relative posted.
