Five rescued after nearly three months adrift in the Pacific

Five people have been rescued after drifting more than 5,400 kilometres across the Pacific in a small boat. Two children are among the survivors. Four people from the same group are still missing.

From a one-hour trip to a prolonged emergency

Nine passengers left Murilo and Ruo in Micronesia on 30 July for a trip that was said to take about an hour. A storm blew the boat off course. The US Coast Guard, Navy and Air Force searched for ten days, but then called off the search without finding either the vessel or the people on board.

Found by villagers on Fanning Island

On Sunday, the survivors were discovered by villagers on Fanning Island, also known as Tabuaeran, in Kiribati. According to US authorities, via AP, they were dehydrated and malnourished when they were taken in. The boat was about six metres long. They have received medical care and are expected to be taken on to Kiritimati for further treatment.

Fanning Island lies in the sparsely populated Line Islands in the central Pacific and has limited transport links and few medical resources. The families of the missing passengers in Micronesia have been contacted, and Chuuk Governor Alexander Narruhn has called for diplomatic talks to bring the survivors home.