The number of people missing and feared drowned in the Tonga ferry disaster has risen to 93, local police said on Sunday.

There were a total of 149 people on board the Princess Ashika ferry when it sank on Wednesday some 90 km (55 miles) northeast of the Pacific island`s capital, Nuku`alofa. The cause for the ship`s sinking is not yet known.

Police chief Sokopeti To`ia said that fifty-four people had so far been rescued and two bodies found. The bodies were identified as a Briton living in New Zealand and a Polynesian woman.

Tonga is an archipelago of about 170 islands in the South Pacific Ocean about two thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand, and has a population of 120,000 people.
sections: Accidents, World News