Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Survivors and families of PNG’s Rabaul Queen to seek compensation

Posted at 18:37 on 05 February, 2013 UTC

A committee made up of survivors and the families of victims of Papua New Guinea’s Rabaul Queen disaster has been formed to seek compensation.

The Post Courier newspaper reports the committee was formed after a memorial service on Saturday in Kokopo, to mark the anniversary of the ship’s sinking in which at least 141 people died.

The committe also intends staging the memorial service annually, with a bigger event planned for next year.

It is also planning a memorial cenotaph in the province.

Chair and George Brown High School headmaster, Mark Todol, says the committee was originally set up because no one had been looking at assisting or settling outstanding issues in relation to heavy loss of life.

Mr Todol’s son, Trevor, who was travelling to Lae on the Rabaul Queen to start studies at Divine Word University, survived the disaster.