Rescuers are racing to find two people believed trapped underneath an inter-island ferry that capsized off Vanuatu.  In all, 41 people were thrown into the water, 37 people have been rescued, but two people died.

“They managed to rescue 37 passengers plus crew, and then we are still going to confirm the number of missing people.  We have two confirmed dead and a few more are still missing,” said Shadrach Welegtabit, Vanuatu’s Director of the National Disaster Management Office.

Vanuatu Police Force used the ‘Big Sista’' commercial ferry, which normally transports tourists and locals in the capital area, in the rescue effort.  These ferries are the main source of transportation around Vanuatu’s archipelago of 60 inhabited islands, plus 20 uninhabited ones.

“Police have commandeered one of the other inter-island ferries, which has gone to bring back those that have been rescued and divers are being dispatched to search for those that are still missing,” said journalist Tony Wilson from Port Vila.

The Red Cross is providing fuel to help local fisherman who assisted the search for the missing.