NZ Navy Vessel Catches Fire and Sinks Near Samoa, 75 Rescued

A Royal New Zealand Navy specialist dive and hydrographic vessel, the HMNZS Manawanui, has caught fire, capsized, and sunk off the coast of the Samoan island of Upolu while surveying a reef on the night of Oct. 5. All 75 crew and passengers were rescued; two people needed hospital treatment for minor injuries, one with a dislocated shoulder and another with back injuries. The ship initially ran aground the reef, and after unsuccessful attempts to refloat it, the Manawanui began to list. According to Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Garin Golding, the people onboard were then evacuated on the morning of Oct. 6, using four life rafts and two rigid-hull inflatable boats, one of which “flipped on the reef” during the rescue attempt, forcing those who were on board to walk to land....