As the search for passengers missing following a ferry sinking near Tonga resumes this morning Tongan Prime Minister Feleti Vaka'uta Sevele held out little hope that they would be found alive.
The Princess Ashika passenger ferry sunk soon after midnight on Thursday.
It was heading from Nuku'alofa to Ha'afeva, in the Nomuka Islands group.
The exact number of passengers was unknown but Dr Sevele said the latest figures he was given was 53 survivors, one dead and up to 33 missing presumed drowned.
The confirmed death was British man Daniel Macmillan, 48, who has been living in New Zealand for the past five years.
He was travelling on a British passport, but had a New Zealand driver's licence.
The search was halted at last night but was likely to resume at first light today.
"The hopes for the rest are not promising unfortunately," Dr Sevele told New Zealand journalists late last night from the Pacific Islands Forum in Cairns, Australia.
The missing passengers, believed to be mainly Tongan women and children who were sleeping below deck, were likely to have gone down with the ship, he said.
Dr Sevele said he would meet with the victims families when he returned to Tonga.
The boat was 35 metres under water and Dr Sevele had asked New Zealand and Australia to send in navy divers to help recover the bodies of missing passengers.
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key and his Australian counterpart Kevin Rudd said yesterday they would assist Tonga indicating they would help with the purchase of a new ferry.
"We would certainly welcome that, that's got to be discussed through.
"But, I'm very happy with the spontaneous response from both Prime Ministers."
There "might have been" previous trouble with the Princess Ashika but it had been operating in Fiji for 30 years and was tested for seaworthiness and insurance purposes before it was recently brought by Tonga, Dr Sevele said.
"We were assured that that had all been done... we were assured that it was all seaworthy and it was tested and passed the test."
Tongan crew spent several weeks in the ship's internal runs in Fiji before they paid for is, Dr Sevele said.
The ship was "very, very important" to Tonga.
"It's a very sad day... it's big for a small place. This is a huge disaster, a huge loss, we'll try and cope with it as best we can."
This tragedy highlighted that maritime safety was an area the Pacific needed to look at, Dr Sevele said.
"It's an area that we've got to look at and whether the safety measures that are in place were adhered too.
"But with this it's time to have another serious look at it."
One safety measure that needed to be checked was whether cargo, namely cars, were secured properly, Dr Sevele said.
There were a lot of boats travelling between the islands every day and the ratio of accidents to trips was not high, he said.
Leaders at the Forum expressed their sympathies with the Government and people of Tonga in the Forum Communique issued last night.
They "welcomed the offer" from Australia and New Zealand to strengthen maritime safety in the region.
The ship operator, Shipping Corporation of Polynesia, confirmed two bodies had been found.
Mike Roberts, of New Zealand's Rescue Co-ordination Centre said last night reports of the number of people on board varied and it was possible more than 100 were on the Princess Ashika.
Dr Sevele said the maximum number we had heard was 96.
Yesterday afternoon Mr Key expressed his condolences for Tonga and said, along with the ferry sinking in Kiribati, it highlighted the fact that there were "real issues with the quality of some of the ships that are operating in the Pacific".
New Zealand was trying to address similar issues in Tokelau which it had discussed at the Forum.
New Zealand had sent two Orions to help with the search and would look at "what this means for the logistics of Tonga" and may provide financial assistance.
