Hopes were evading as family members of two individuals who were suspected to have become lost and fallen into a steep ravine at Vaoala on Tuesday night while a full-scale search and rescue operation was conducted.

The alarm was first raised about the pair's disappearance on Tuesday afternoon.   

Searching began from about 4pm after the Samoa Fire and Emergency Services Authority and Police were called to the scene, neighbours said.

The individuals were found around night time but Emergency services sources told the Samoa Observer the two are suspected to have become trapped in a ravine with an estimated depth of 300 metres or more.

As at 9.30pm last night there were more than ten emergency services vehicles at the scene, including ambulances, Police cars and fire trucks. 

It is not known whether the two lost people remain alive or how they came to be lost in the ravine. 

One of the family members of the two individuals who were the subject of the rescue operation, Benitto Krieg told the media that his family do not wish to comment nor be reported on by any media.

The forest privately expressed fears for the worst due to the sheer estimated depth of the ravine. 

The Deputy Commissioner of the Samoa Fire and Emergency Services Authority, Tanuvasa Petone Mauga, said he could not release details of the rescue operation. 

Tanuvasa was also asked on whether the two individuals may have passed away or have survived but he did not reply.

Powered by Froala Editor