Aug 22, 2006A FREAK tornado struck three vessels linked together, in a search and rescue mission in Ha'apai last Friday that nearly ended in tragedy for 35 crewmen on board.After being hit by 40-50 knot winds, a rescue barge owned by the Tonga government was swamped and began to sink, starting to pull down two other boats chained to it, the "MV Hifofua" and the "Nai'a". In order to save the crews the barge was cut loose and sank, while the five men on board the barge escaped in a dingy.Today, from the safety of port in Nuku'alofa, Jonathan Smith the captain of a Fijian whale-watching vessel the "Nai'a" that was rescued by the barge after running aground on a Ha'apai reef on August 10, described the events as "pretty horrific". He praised the Tongan rescue effort."The main thing was lives were not lost, although a couple of the guys broke their fingers and had scratches,” he said.
