Fly woman found dead at sea

A woman from Tirere village in Fly Kiwai rural local level government, believed to be in her 40s, was found dead in the sea on Friday afternoon between Daru Point and Aberemuba in Western Province.

According to disaster officer Joy Iwaneke, the woman had gone out fishing early Friday morning at Texas Bamu Corner.

Ms Iwaneke says that at around 12 pm, the sister in-law of the deceased went to the waterfront and found only her canoe with the catch still inside. The woman was nowhere to be seen.

She returned and alerted the family that the woman was missing.

Disaster officers received the report at around 3pm and immediately dispatched a search and rescue team.

Ms Iwaneke said the search team found the woman's body between Daru Point and Aberemuba at about 5pm. The body was recovered from the sea and taken to the hospital morgue. The cause of death has not yet been determined.

Following the incident, the District Administrator for South Fly, Wasewa Saebi, is urging coastal communities to take disaster warnings seriously.

Mr Saebi said he recently travelled to Sigabaduru, Mabudauan and Waidoro, where even large ranger boats struggled to travel because of rough seas and strong waves.

He reminded the public that warnings issued by disaster officers are serious and should not be ignored or treated as posts for social media.

Mr Saebi called on all communities to take responsibility and follow the warnings to help prevent further loss of life at sea.