THE families of two men missing in the Open Bay of West and East Britain are holding out on hopes their missing ones will still be rescued alive. The missing men are former PNG football captain Michael Foster and his nephew. They went missing on December 23 last year when the boat they were travelling on from Kokopo in East New Britain to Noau in West New Britain was swamped by a sudden massive storm just off the coast of Ulamona.
Family members of both men are in Kimbe, West New Britain meeting provincial disaster officials on updates of the search and rescue operation. New information has also emerged that the 11 survivors, who included Foster’s wife and daughter, endured the ordeal by hanging onto a makeshift raft fashioned out of wooden pallets that are normally used on banana boats for passenger seating. In a report to the West New Britain administrator on December 31, 2024, the WNB Disaster and Emergency Division staff reported an extensive search has found little evidence and the search has been scaled down.
The head of disaster operations, Leo Porikura, who interviewed the remaining nine survivors, reported that the boat was struck by a massive storm just off Noau village. The boat was completely submerged and sank to the bottom of the sea just after 2pm. The survivors, which initially included Michael Foster and his nephew, were hanging onto the makeshift raft.
But as it was getting late and with night approaching, Foster made the courageous decision to swim ashore.
