A Fiji naval ship has located and rescued a crew member of a distressed fishing vessel.
The search continues for five other crew including two Fijians and three Indonesians who jumped overboard in Fiji waters amid a reported ‘violent incident.’
The survivor was rescued from a life raft and transferred to Fiji Police in Nadi.
According to the navy another two survivors, both Fijians who had remained onboard the distressed Fiji-flagged vessel Tiro 2 were picked up early this morning by a partner fishing vessel Sam Weon 11.
“FV Tiro 2 sank this morning after taking in water last night.”
On Wednesday the navy was alerted to the initial incident on Monday in which six people went missing.
A local aircraft was deployed to conduct an aerial search.
The patrol boat RFNS Kikau was also deployed and later joined by the Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 Orion in the search.
According to RNZ Pacific, a spokesperson for the New Zealand Defence Force said the search was mounted after reports of "an alleged violent incident on board".
The navy’s focus now is to search for the remaining missing five and to retrieve the two survivors who were picked up by Sam Weon 11.
“Information regarding what transpired onboard that led to this tragic incident will be investigated by the Police. The survivors will be taken in for questioning after being cleared by health officials.”
“The weather deteriorated further last night and has hindered today's search effort,” the navy said.
Photo Fiji Navy Caption: A survivor of the fishing vessel Tiro 2 is rescued by Fiji navy officers