When I heard John Glennie's "Gidday Blossom" on the phone this week, I knew nothing had changed.

Alex Macdonald says he was kept in Tongan police custody for five days, accused of killing his skipper.

It's a story that reads like the plot of a movie thriller - lost in the Pacific.

Impoverished island kingdom would need outside help to fund the recovery of the vessel or the bodies trapped in it.

Former All Black Va'aiga Tuigamala says some of his wife's relatives were among those who perished in last week's tragedy.

Depth of the sunken ferry Princess Ashika means the recovery of the 93 bodies trapped inside would be a prohibitively costly, lengthy and dangerous process.

Tonga's King has committed an act so foolish that it bears comparison with some of the biggest political clangers of recent history.

An independent inquiry has been ordered into the cause of last week's sinking of the Tongan ferry Princess Ashika.

At least 93 people who drowned in the Princess Ashika are likely to be forever buried at sea because the wreck - found yesterday - is too deep.

Sonar images indicate a vessel which fits the general size and shape of the Princess Ashika.

Divers hope to know today if a rope found in the water is attached to the ferry which sank last week with the loss of up to 93 lives.

The Government is to help Tonga find a replacement for the ferry that sank a week ago with the loss of nearly 100 lives.

A former North Otago rugby representative is believed to have been among those killed in the Tongan ferry disaster.

Even ferry is found, it could be too deep to recover any bodies.