DPS investigating accident at sea — here’s what witnesses say

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — While families of the two victims who lost their lives Monday afternoon during the tragic accident in the passage between Auasi and Aunuu island mourn, police are now investigating the incident to find out what really happened as the alia boat left Auasi wharf.

Samoa News was able to interview some of the witnesses regarding this tragic incident where the alia boat was overcome by the waves, who said that instead of the usual 6 passengers transported per trip, there were approximately 20 people on the alia.

One survivor who was thankful to be alive told Samoa News that there were 19 people at the Auasi wharf waiting for an alia boat to take them to Aunu’u island around 4pm on Monday, July 15, 2020. When the alia arrived, they were told that “this will be the last trip to Aunuu island for the day.”

“No one wanted to sleep over in Tutuila. Everyone wanted to go home to Aunuu island, so everyone jumped in the boat. Passengers were elderly men, including the pastor of the Congregational Christian Church of American Samoa in Aunu’u, and women with their children — including a 4-year-old girl,” the witness said.

Reports from Aunuu stated that it was about 40 minutes after the alia boat capsized in deep water before another alia boat with members of the Aunuu aumaga arrived and rescued passengers floating at sea.

However a witness stated that what was so sad about the rescue mission was that, the alia boat did not rescue all of the 19 passengers that were floating at the location where the incident took place. They only rescued 17, including one of the victims, who was unresponsive at the time of the rescue. They left the church pastor and another elderly man, who later became the second victim in this tragic accident — the pastor survived the accident.

Samoa News reported yesterday that the team wanted to rescue the pastor first, but he declined saying that others should be taken first, including the 4-year-old child. According to the witness, that is not the way he heard it.

“Based on the information we received from members of the aumaga who rushed to the location where the incident took place to rescue our people, the alia boat left immediately after they rescued the 17 people and left the pastor and the second victim behind,” the witness said.

The pastor, along with the second victim were rescued by the DPS Marine Patrol boat after spending over two hours in the rough sea.

Questions were asked about why took it so long for the DPS boat to respond.

A woman who was at the Auasi wharf when it happened told Samoa News that it was “bad communication” that delayed the DPS boat to offer its help. Instead of coming to the location where the incident took place, the police boat went straight to Aunu’u island before it headed back to the location of the two men, who were still in the sea. By the time the police boat arrived at the location, it was too late to offer any assistance to the second victim.

“We’re so thankful to our Heavenly Father for protecting our pastor while he was at sea. If the police boat delayed for another 30 minutes or more, maybe our pastor would also been unable to survive,” the woman said.

Effort to obtain a comment from the operator of the alia boat that went on the rescue mission as to why the team left the two men was unsuccessful.

Reports from Aunuu stated that the alia boat that went to rescue those who were in the sea had an engine problem and maybe that was the reason why the boat did not return to pick up the church pastor and the elderly man who became the second victim.

It was also clear from videos recorded by residents of Aunuu and posted on social media that people were calling out to the team of Aumaga on the alia boat who went for the rescue mission to leave the body of the first victim but rush back to rescue the pastor along with the other man.

No one bothered to listen.

SOCIAL MEDIA COMMENTS

Social media was flooded with comments from many people locally and around the mainland regarding this tragic accident. Some revealed angry comments and frustration, while others were so thankful that the majority of the passengers were saved, despite the fact that two precious lives were lost.

One person posted on his Facebook account that the responsibility of every captain of every boat of any size carrying passengers is a massive responsibility to be taken very, very seriously.

“I can not think of any real captain that would have taken passengers out into this rough sea in an open type alia. That decision was not made by a real captain. My heart breaks for the two lives lost. But it is a miracle to be happy for  the lives that were saved. I do not know how the rest of the passengers were saved or how many. But whomever saved them or participated in that rescue deserves a medal for heroism in very dangerous conditions.”

Another comment by a bystander stated that it saddens him to hear of a loss of life from something that could have been prevented.

“I’m sure the residents, and of course alia owners have been educated in these situations, this isn’t the first incident, but I am sure it’s the common mentality, “Ua masagi lava le Aunu’u i tulaga fa’apena” oh really! So why were two lives lost?”

“Thank God the others were saved. We like to take the short cut ways of doing things but it’s not the right and safe way. Just like the COVID19 — opening our airways to Apia n soon America and think we can short cut death when it enters our island our home! THINK TWICE.”