Brother recounts final moments: 'He slipped from my hands and disappeared beneath the water'

A 15-year-old boy has shared the heartbreaking final moments he spent with his elder brother, describing how he desperately tried to save him before strong currents swept him beneath the sea off Naevuevu, Nadroga.

Alifereti Vunakece, 20, remains missing after he and his younger brother, Moses, went snorkelling and diving on Friday.

"We started from the shallow end, hoping to swim to calmer waters near the point," Moses Vunakece said.

"As we swam, I looked back and saw my brother drifting further away. At first, he was still swimming and seemed to be in control, but then the current became stronger and carried him away."

Moses said he had warned his brother about the strong current ahead.

"I told him we would face a strong current, but when I reached him, he was holding onto the container with the fish."

He said his brother had a plastic gallon used to keep fish tied around his waist. It had filled with water and become too heavy.

"He told me the gallon was pulling him back and asked me to let it go so he could swim. I went to him and untied the wire, but he was struggling to breathe.

"He slipped from my hands and disappeared beneath the water.

"The waves carried me further out to sea. I grabbed pieces of wood to keep myself afloat and tried to swim towards the nearest point."

Back in Naevuevu Village, their mother, Kelera Senioli, said she sensed something was wrong when her sons did not return home, sparking a frantic search by family members and villagers.

The mother of nine, originally from Lau, said Alifereti was an experienced diver who had learned everything he knew about the sea from his father.

"He taught our sons everything he knew about the tides, where to go, where not to go, what to touch and what not to touch," she said.

As the family waits for answers, police divers from the Police Mobile Force continued searching the waters off Naevuevu Village yesterday.

Police said the incident was reported by Alifereti's 15-year-old brother, who had accompanied him on the trip.