A former crew member of the Princess Ashika has told a trial in Tonga there was water a foot deep on the passenger deck several hours before the boat sank.
Fisi'inaua Vea is a witness in the manslaughter trial of four men charged over the sinking of the vessel in August of 2009 in which 74 people died.
Falemaka Fihaki reports from Nuku'alofa.
"Mr Vea told the court that at around 8:30 that night he'd patrolled the passenger deck and cargo hold and found water over a foot deep, reaching almost the length of the vessel. Mr Vea said the water was coming through the bow ramp. He reported this to one of the defendants in the trial, the first mate, Semisi Pomale, who was in command at the time. Mr Vea says Mr Pomale was lying down and appeared not to respond, so he reported the matter to Filipe Tua'ataina who was at the helm at the time. Mr Tua'ataina told him to muster other crew to bail out the water."
