Five people, including two children, were rescued off Fanning Island in Kiribati after drifting for about three months in a 20-foot skiff. Four others aboard the boat remain missing.
Five people, including two children, were rescued off Fanning Island in Kiribati after drifting for about three months in a 20-foot skiff, according to the Associated Press and The Independent.
Villagers found the group on Sunday off Fanning Island, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported. The skiff had nine people aboard when it failed to return to Ruo Island in Micronesia on July 30, the U.S. Coast Guard in Guam said. The original trip was meant to be a one-hour crossing between Murilo and Ruo, but the boat was caught in a storm and carried off course.
A 10-day search covering 85,700 square kilometers (33,000 square miles) found no sign of the boat or those aboard. The skiff drifted an estimated 5,400 kilometers (3,355 miles) east from the Federated States of Micronesia, according to the AP, while The Independent reports the boat was found 5,400km away from where the group was last seen.
"Incredible and wonderful news these five folks were found and are receiving care," the U.S. Coast Guard told The Associated Press in an email. "Our profound condolences to family and friends of those who did not arrive with them," the email added.
All five survivors were severely dehydrated and malnourished, nursing officer Paukin Tororo told the ABC on Monday. All were put on intravenous drips and were showing signs of recovery. "They can give a smile face, they show the sign they want to eat," she told the ABC.
A lawmaker in Kiribati, Kaotitaake Rakoroa, told ABC the survivors were being cared for by a pastor on the island. The survivors had yet to speak publicly about their ordeal and had requested privacy, the Australian broadcaster reported.
The governor of Micronesia's Chuuk state, Alexander Narruhn, said he had begun talks with the Kiribati government to bring the survivors home. "There were nine people aboard the boat that went missing. Thanks be to God for his love and mercy that five of the nine have been found," Narruhn said through an interpreter. "We continue to pray for their four companions," he added.
When asked by the AP what happened to the missing four, the U.S. Coast Guard said it was continuing to gather and confirm information and would reply as soon as possible.
The rescue ended a search that began after the boat vanished on July 30. The survivors were not found by a formal search, but by villagers off Fanning Island after months adrift. Kiribati and Chuuk state are discussing how to bring the rescued group home, while the fate of the four missing people remains unconfirmed.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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