One dead, more than 30 missing after ferry sinks off Vanuatu

At least one person was killed and 30 are missing after a ferry sank off the coast of Vanuatu, the South Pacific nation's government said on Sunday.

The vessel, MV Matui, had set sail on Friday with more than 40 passengers and crew from the island of Santo to Ambae island in very rough seas, but did not arrive.

Prime Minister Jotham Napat's office said on Sunday morning that one dead body has been recovered, while 15 of those onboard have been "accounted for alive".

The alarm was raised on Saturday afternoon when a diver working at a hotel on Santo saw a man floating in a life vest and pulled him to shore.

Hotel owner Ashley Beveridge told AFP he realised his employee was carrying a survivor from the missing boat, and someone in the restaurant alerted the authorities.

"He looked like he had been in the bathtub for 25 hours -- he was wrinkled up and white. He was cold," Beveridge said in a telephone interview.

The survivor, Jeffson, said the boat sank on Friday morning.

"There was no rescue started until this guy got washed up on our beach -- lucky he got washed up in an inhabited area," Beveridge said.

"He had gone all day and all night in the water."

Beveridge said on Sunday afternoon: "At the last count it is 18 recovered and there is two or three dead so far."

Cargo ship owners including a local politician, a local doctor with a plane and a private medical assistance vessel began their search on Saturday afternoon.

Survivors are being taken to the hospital on Santo Island, local media reported.

Napat's office took over the maritime search on Sunday afternoon, after the prime minister earlier expressed frustration that he had been unable to reach senior officials.

In its Sunday statement, Napat's office said "over 30 people remain missing at sea," in addition to the one dead and the 15 "accounted for alive".

"Our hearts and prayers are with the families who have lost loved ones. Search and rescue operations are continuing," the statement read.

An investigation into potential negligence has been launched.

"This loss appears to be the result of strong winds and marine warnings not being heeded, and possibly of negligence including overloading of the vessel," the statement added.

Beveridge, an Australian living in Vanuatu for eight years, said until Jeffson was discovered authorities had believed the ferry was adrift, and there was community frustration that the rescue effort took so long to get underway.

The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Noumea, New Caledonia said it is assisting with the search, and a French Armed Forces aircraft was deployed on Sunday morning.

The centre said 12 people were located on Sunday morning.

Matai Seremaiah, the member of parliament for Luganville who took part in the search aboard his family's cargo vessel, said two survivors and one body had been discovered Sunday on Tutuba Island.