23/07/2026
Five More Bodies Recovered in New Ireland Following Kokopo Boating Mishap
โNEW IRELAND โ Five additional bodies from the boating tragedy off Kokopo, East New Britain Province, were recovered today in the Tigak Islands of New Ireland Province.
โLocal villagers discovered the victims along the reef: three washed ashore on Upuas Island, while two surfaced near Enang Island alongside a boat with a 60-horsepower engine.
The bodies were discovered between 2pm - 5pm.
โThe latest recoveries bring the total number of bodies retrieved in New Ireland waters to eight since Tuesday, July 21.
They were among 27 passengers reported missing after their boat vanished in East New Britain waters on Saturday, July 18.
โNew Ireland Provincial Disaster Manager Terrence Tasia stated that due to the state of the decomposed bodies, images and identifying details are being transmitted to East New Britain Disaster officials for formal identification.
โThe five retrieved bodies arrived at the Kavieng Hospital beachfront at 9:30pm and have been transferred to the Hospital Morgue.
Search operations remain underway as 19 passengers remain unaccounted for.