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

A Canterbury man's holiday voyage turned into a trip from hell last week when the skipper fell overboard.

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.

Remote operated vehicle (ROV) expected to be deployed again once weather clears on Monday evening.

A sonar image of a sunken wreck believed to be the Princess Ashika has been released by the Navy.

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.

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

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

Young New Zealander serving with the Niuean police force feared dead, in the Tongan ferry capsize.

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

The number of people believed to have been on board the Tongan ferry Princess Ashika when it sank on Wednesday has risen to 141.