Samoa: Manu’a isolated again

Oceanand air transportation to Manu’a are both currently down, and a Department of Public Safety marine patrol boat was recently used to transport a body to Tutuila, as the morgue in Ta’u was not operational.

Commissioner of Public Safety, William Bill Haleck is calling on the Department of Health Director, Motusa Tuileama Nua to “fix” the morgue at the dispensary in Ta’u, Manu’a as soon as possible, as the people need it.

Haleck told Samoa News that over the weekend he was contacted by the governor’s office, saying DPS assistance was needed because the morgue in Ta’u was down, and there was a body needing transportation. Since the MV Sili is still undergoing maintenance, and there are no flights operating, they called upon DPS for use of their marine patrol boat.

The police commissioner explained that the morgue in Ta’u is not operational, and they didn’t want the body to decompose, so DPS had to sail to Manu’a.

Haleck said that the marine Patrol boat left Saturday morning around 6 am and came back before noon. He further stated that while the police officers went to Manu’a for the transportation emergency, this “shouldn’t happen” and “we cannot do this all the time.”

He stated the marine patrol boat is made for “search and rescue” — not for transportation.

Asked if it is risky for the marine patrol boat to be traveling to Manu’a, Haleck responded, “No”. However, he pointed out that it is “time consuming” and not really a part of their duties. He reiterated that the marine patrol boat is for search and rescue.

Haleck said if there was an incident out at sea, and the officers were on their way to Manu’a, that would be a problem.

The Commissioner also made it clear that the man whose body they transported from Manu’a died of natural causes.

He noted that hopefully DOH officials will seriously look at fixing the morgue, as it’s necessary. Calls to the Director of Health were not immediately returned.

When Samoa News contacted the dispensary in Ta’u, the nurse initially said the morgue was down. However, when she was informed that the person on the phone is with the media, the female nurse then said, “Oh… it’s working again.”

According to port employees, the MV Sili has been down for over two weeks and it’s unclear as to when maintenance will be completed, or when it will be operational again.

Regarding the Segaula, according to the governor’s executive assistant Iulogologo Joseph Pereira, they are currently waiting for a transponder for the government’s aircraft, which is required by the Federal Aviation Administration. He said that Port Administration has purchased and will be installing the transponder, which is slated to arrive on the island mid May.

He further stated that upon installation of the transponder, the FAA will be conducting a final inspection to determine if the plane is ready for air transportation. Calls to Inter Island Airways yesterday morning asking as to when the airline will fly to Manu’a again, resulted in one employee saying they will not know until next Monday.