Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Investigations underway in Tonga after body discovered on yacht

Posted at 01:21 on 15 November, 2012 UTC

Matangi Tonga reports a badly decomposed male body was found on a yacht which ran aground in Luatafito Atoll in Tonga last week.

The yacht named ’Jereve’ is now a crime scene under investigation by police from the United States, Australia, Cook Islands and Tonga.

The body is under going a post mortem in Tonga and the dead man is not thought to be local but his identity has not yet been confirmed.

Police Commission Grant O’Fee told Matangi Tonga the yacht’s intended destination was not Tonga but he did not comment on queries as to whether drugs were found on the yacht.

He says Tonga Police are working with international agencies on the investigation and the Tonga Defence Services are conducting a maritime recovery exercise of the yacht, which remains stuck on the reef.