THE 23-foot dinghy that was carrying the five research scientists from the Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research (PNGIMR) was found in Wewak, East Sepik, over the weekend, The National reports.
West New Britain provincial police commander Thomas Reu said yesterday that a photo was taken of the boat and sent to the PNGIMR and disaster officials in Kimbe.
They confirmed that it was the boat that the five had got on when they went missing in Talasea waters early this month.
The five are team leader Gibson Gideon from Enga, research scientists Leonard Vavana from East New Britain, George Dogoya from Lufa, Eastern Highlands, plus female members Tania Oakiva from Gulf and Lydia Petrus, from Ialibu, Southern Highlands.
Reu said police had not ruled out foul play.
The five scientists and the vessel's crew had planned to travel from Milimata, on the mainland, to the offshore island of Bali on Aug 1.
They never arrived at their destination.
He said search and rescue operations were still going on.
Acting West New Britain disaster director Leo Mampmani confirmed that two bodies – one female and male – had been found but their identities were yet to be verified.
He said it was important to verify the identities of bodies being washed ashore because apart from the five, another seven people had gone missing in West New Britain waters in July and had not been found.
"The bodies resurfacing could be anyone, which is why verification and confirmation by authorities must be undertaken," he said.
The provincial disaster committee chairman and West New Britain provincial administrator Steven Raphael was expected to give a daily update.
Unbelievable the missing boat has been found in Wewak. The identities of the three crewmen have to be made known because there were ulterior motives at play. An extensive investigation has to be done with the families of the missing five by going all the way back to the beginning when they first arrived at WNB. Extensive checks on mobile phone records with Digicel & Bemobile on the missing five plus the three crewmen on the nature of thier conversations and text messages will help solve this missing dilema. If they have been thier in WNB for two weeks or a month earlier in July and went missing for the month of August, I reckon and believe that there would huge trails of information and clues they left behind like getting the impressions of the village people about the five missing. The village people will tell you about thier attitude, personality or expressions and emotions of the missing five before embarking on their boat journey on 1st August 2011 due to the facts that the missing five interacted immensely with the people of each villages or health clinics they did research on. There should be signs of fear or threat or even sexual harrassment experienced by the five missing due to been in a diffent province since the they were from the different parts of the country. It is already evident that Tania indicated or implied by way of making a distress call to her sister for phone credits in the event that problems as such could happen. The dinghy found happens to be in an undisturbed condition means alot to be desired on. If mother nature or the culture of WNB didnt play any part in the missing eight than the missing five are targets of an pre-meditated act of kidnapping but not piracy as claimed. The latter would immidiately place a price tag on each missing for ransom in exchange for their safe return. Public information through reports do not mention claims of ransom in any sorts. I believe people know were the missing five might be because nobody vanishes into thin air.
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