By RNZ and is republished with permission
Three crew members from a Chinese-owned Fiji-flagged fishing vessel are being questioned by police after an alleged beheading at sea.
Six crew members from the vessel the Tiro Two jumped overboard during the reported “violent incident” on Monday.
One person was aboard a life-raft, with the other five entering the water without lifejackets.
The man in the life-raft has been found, with the Fijian Rescue Coordination Center releasing photos of the moment he was located on Wednesday.
The Chinese-owned, Fiji-flagged tuna longliner FV TIRO II was found on Wednesday by the Orion about 90 nautical miles west of Fiji, with two crew members still onboard.
The Fijian Rescue Coordination Center has also released photos of the two men found on board the vessel being handed over to police.
After taking on water Thursday night, FV TRIO II sank yesterday morning.
Fiji Navy commander Captain Humphrey Tawake said all three survivors were now being spoken to by the police in Suva in relation to the violence on board the trawler.
He said the search continued for the other crewmembers.
“They’ve been in the water since Monday, so your survival in the water without any lifesaving equipment is drastically reduced. But we remain optimistic.”
Earlier, Captain Humphrey Tawake told the Fiji Times newspaper they were aware of allegations that a Fijian national had beheaded a second Fijian national following a “heated argument”.
“However, we cannot comment on these allegations since police will carry out their own investigations to ascertain these claims.
“We are aware that part of the crew had jumped overboard while two remained on the vessel.”
A New Zealand Air Force Orion aircraft has also been helping in the search for the remaining five men.
