Jim Eagles indulges in some mouth-watering island cuisine.

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.

New Zealand navy divers may know late tonight whether the object attached to a rope spotted in Tongan waters is the sunken Princess Ashika.

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.

Latest count of those aboard ill-fated ferry indicates 93 people are still missing.

A team of 12 navy divers and a three-member remote search team will leave for Tonga this evening.

A New Zealand woman is "just trying to hold onto hope" that her mother, brother and sister have survived the sinking of an inter-island ferry in Tonga.

Rescuers are now looking for 64 missing passengers after the number on board a Tongan ferry that sank on Wednesday was revised up to 119.