Three women have been confirmed dead, and a search was still underway as of last night for a 12-year-old girl after a boat they were traveling in capsized in the Tuvuca Waters in Lau on Friday.
According to police, 16 people left Tuvuca Island on Friday morning in the same boat for Tavunuku Island.
On Friday afternoon, police stated the villagers had received a call that the boat had capsized.
The villagers managed to rescue 12 people.
Three died and one was still missing at sea.
The search continued yesterday with villagers and police officers from Vanuabalavu Police Station for the missing girl.
Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji (MSAF) CEO, Joeli Cawaki said they received a call at 3.55pm on Friday from Tuvuca regarding the mass.
Mr Cawaki said 16 people went for a picnic around 8 to 9am in the boat, which carried eight adults and eight children.
He said CPR was done on the three women but was unsuccessful.
He said they would continue to follow up with the Fiji Navy Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) operations and Police to ascertain and investigate the MSAF safety compliance on the boat and the qualification of the boat master.
